In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

December 11th.

A light snowfall blanketed the entire Tuyuhun region, not just the plateau area, but the whole territory.

As the weather grew colder, the pressure on the western front retreat increased day by day.

Unable to return directly via the supply route, the Far Eastern Army had to take a detour, traversing hills and mountains, weaving through extremely difficult terrain without daring to stop for a moment.

This was definitely the most difficult marching route Li Yuanchang had encountered in all his years of leading troops. The Central Plains had post roads, the grasslands were flat and open, and even the primitive and desolate island of Japan was not as difficult as this road.

Li Yuanchang was unsure which specific region of 21st-century China the western part of Tuyuhun belonged to, but he estimated its approximate location to be "western Sichuan".

Even in the 21st century, this place is still a series of towering mountains, extremely treacherous, let alone the sparsely populated primitive 7th century.

Once the only escape route was cut off, the evacuation entered an extremely difficult phase.

"Report!!"

"Report!!"

"Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up!"

Several riders galloped up from behind the long marching column.

Li Yuanchang turned around.

"Report!"

"Your Highness, the Tibetans have appeared in large numbers less than three miles behind us and are pursuing our army!"

These words caused an uproar in the Far East Army. Everyone tensed up, gripped their longswords, and prepared for battle.

It is worth mentioning that the distance of less than three li here is the straight-line distance estimated by a telescope. Unlike the usual three li, this three li is a mountain road with complex terrain.

If you really need to travel quickly, it's much farther than the usual six miles.

Therefore, the Far East Army had time to make its arrangements.

"How many people?" Li Yuanchang asked calmly under pressure.

He knew he would be caught up, after all, the retreat of tens of thousands of people left behind traces that could not be erased.

He can't possibly wipe away every footprint he takes and pick up every horse droppings left by the warhorse with every step he takes, can he?

"Your Highness, there should be about ten thousand men," the scout reported.

"Only 10,000 people?" Li Yuanchang frowned.

"Yes, what we see so far is no more than 15,000 people. I estimate they are the vanguard of the Tibetans, with the rear guard still behind," the scout said.

"They don't have many men, Your Highness. Perhaps we can set an ambush and deliver a surprise attack!"

"That's right!" Xue Rengui, Wan Jun and others quickly volunteered, wanting to seize the opportunity when the enemy was not in a stable position and their formation was broken.

But Li Yuanchang didn't speak. Instead, he looked worriedly in another direction, towards the Tashiganchi River, which they were about to cross.

"Your Highness, what is wrong?" Xue Rengui asked again, seeing that he hesitated despite the extremely urgent military situation.

"Lu Zhong's troops reported that at least 50,000 Tibetan troops had parachuted into the rear, but now only a little over 10,000 have appeared. This is probably not a separation, but rather other troops taking a shortcut to block our advance," Li Yuanchang frowned.

"Shortcuts get blocked?"

Everyone was shocked and looked ahead, speechless. Wasn't that a dead end?

"We can't go down this road!" Li Yuanchang was extremely decisive, overturning all the original plans based on just one piece of intelligence.

His decision-making ability and decisiveness were on full display at this moment.

"Your Highness, how do we get there now?"

There was no fear or doubt in the eyes of any of the generals; there was only absolute obedience and trust.

Li Yuanchang surveyed the thousands of wounded soldiers. After days of trekking, their medicines had run out before their food supplies, and their wounds were at risk of worsening.

Once they are caught, their fate will be irreversible.

Moreover, the presence of a large number of wounded soldiers would actually be a burden on the team.

"Complete escape is now just a fantasy."

"The Tibetans will not let us go."

"We need to split up into two groups."

"Capable soldiers and wounded soldiers must be separated, otherwise the wounded soldiers will be wiped out, which will also delay the army's combat effectiveness and create a vicious cycle."

Wan Jun volunteered: "Your Highness, you should lead the wounded soldiers to retreat first, and I will stay behind to deal with the Tibetans."

"As long as you successfully return to Fuai City, you can mobilize troops for a counterattack!"

Li Yuanchang refused.

If he were still alive, it would still be war for the Far East Army.

If he leaves, the situation will be different for the Far East Army that remains behind; it will be a certain sacrifice.

"No."

"The army has not been defeated, yet the commander-in-chief has already retreated. What kind of logic is this?"

"Wan Jun, you are responsible for taking away eight thousand wounded soldiers and heading further south, into the deep mountains, completely bypassing the Tashiganchi River. We must never take this route again!"

"Carry the lightly wounded and the heavily wounded; make sure everyone is brought back to Fu'ai City for me!"

"The rest of you, follow me and fight this Tibetan army!"

"Your Highness!" Wan Jun and many others objected.

"This is a military order, there is no time!" Li Yuanchang shouted.

Wan Jun and the others looked grim, but dared not speak again, for they knew Li Yuanchang's character.

Immediately afterward, Li Yuanchang grabbed Wan Jun's clothes and pulled him close: "Remember, after returning to Fu'ai City, cooperate with Murong Khan to defend the city. It is the only safe stronghold for my Far East Army!"

"Until I return, you must disregard any military orders or troop movements from the court, and you must not report any information about me to the court. Do you understand?"

He spoke each word with an extremely sharp and serious gaze.

The Tibetan army's flanking maneuver to cut off their supplies and their attack were completely airborne; it was too strange, and he was already suspicious.

Wan Jun was stunned, as if he had understood something.

"yes!"

"Quickly, move out!" Li Yuanchang shouted immediately, which sped up the entire Far East Army, making the atmosphere urgent and race against time.

The eight thousand wounded soldiers quickly separated from their original army. Not all of them were seriously wounded; forty percent were seriously wounded and sixty percent were lightly wounded. They could still march independently, but fighting would be too difficult.

On the other side, there were still more than 6,400 main force elites, all of whom were composed of various battalions.

Li Yuanchang had no time to reorganize them, nor did he have time to tally the "balance" of weapons such as bows and arrows.

Because the enemy is already close.

After the dust and sand covered the wounded soldiers and they disappeared to the south, flocks of birds flew by and the ground trembled. Li Yuanchang could already sense that the Tibetan army had arrived!

Scouts on the hill ahead kept waving flags as a warning.

Li Yuanchang hid in the bushes on a high slope and gently raised his hand.

Rows of bows and arrows, and crossbows, were lined up and slowly emerged from all directions, their silvery arrows releasing a silent aura of death.

Behind them were rows of empty carts that had originally been loaded with provisions, but when the wounded soldiers left, in order to increase speed and reduce burden, each person carried a small bag of rations, and all the heavy items were broken down into smaller pieces.

These carts were thus freed up and were put to use, with about thirty of them lined up in a row.

During the retreat, Li Yuanchang had someone count the explosives. There were still more than fifty packs left, and Han Lei only had three hundred of them left unused, which were kept as a reserve by the Imperial Guards Battalion.