Chapter 242 Going deep into the tiger's den

A Tang cavalry composed of about 300 people ran in the gullies between the mountains. Bosi Mountain is part of the Outer Alay Mountain, stretching for thousands of miles. To the south are the Tochar countries, and to the north are the famous Fergan Basin.

Bosishan is rich in silver, and there are large silver mines in the north and south. It has shallow burials, high grades, and easy to mine. It is the main source of silver mines for Dashi.

At this moment, the Tang army was speeding at the westmost point of Bosi Mountain. On both sides were dense forests on the gentle hillsides. The autumn was dyed, and the jungle showed a colorful and charming scene. However, the Tang army had no intention of appreciating the beautiful autumn scenery. They rushed to the direction of Yincheng.

The scout captain Qin Haiyang is the executor of this mission. His mission is to investigate the garrisoning situation of Yincheng and make preliminary preparations for the Tang army to capture Yincheng.

"Captain!"

A soldier from Shi Kingdom who was familiar with the terrain rushed to report: "There is the Tuo Mountain Passage twenty miles ahead. After passing the pass, you will reach the pass and then go to the mine fifty miles ahead."

"Can there beacon towers?"

"I passed here last year, and there were no beacons at that time."

Qin Haiyang pondered for a moment. Last year, the Tang army had not marched into the Shi Kingdom, and the Dashi Army had no threat. There was no need to build a beacon tower at that time, but now the situation has changed tremendously. The Dashi Army has increased its troops in Yincheng. At this time, the possibility of building a beacon tower has been greatly enhanced. Once it is discovered by the beacon tower, the plan to explore Yincheng will be shattered.

Thinking of this, Qin Haiyang immediately ordered the two scouts to say, "Go and investigate the enemy situation ahead and see if there is any Peak Fire Platform."

The two scouts agreed and urged the horse to go. Qin Haiyang turned around and ordered the others, "Dropping off the horse and waiting."

The Tang soldiers dismounted and rested one after another. Qin Haiyang rested for a while and ate some dry food. He looked at the surrounding mountains. Judging from his experience, there should be more than one road in this kind of mountain.

He recruited a soldier from the Stone Kingdom, spread the map on a flat stone and asked, "Is there only this road from here to Silver City?"

The soldier of the Shi Kingdom was all hunters and was very familiar with the roads in this area. He shook his head and said, "There are two small roads, but the mountains are high and the slopes are steep and the roads are difficult. People can walk on it, but horses can't walk on it."

As soon as he finished speaking, a sudden sound of horse hooves came from the front. Tang army, who were originally lying on the ground to rest, jumped up one after another, took a bow and arrow, and looked ahead nervously.

After a moment, two black shadows appeared at the corner. Gradually, they approached. They were the two Tang soldiers who had just gone to explore the way. Everyone was relieved. The two scouts rushed forward to report: "There are sentries and beacon towers on the cliff ahead, and they will definitely be discovered in the past."

"How did that night pass?"

The scout shook his head and said, "There are hidden whistles in the dense forest, and it is difficult to pass by at night."

Qin Haiyang frowned, what should I do? At this time, the soldiers of Shi Kingdom suddenly remembered something and said anxiously: "Captain, there is another way to go through, which is a little farther away. You need to circumvent dense water, which is two hundred miles away than going straight to Yincheng from here. The advantage is that there are no patrols."

Qin Haiyang thought about it and then ordered: "Okay, just go a long way!"

The Tang army boarded one after another and followed the soldiers of the Shi Kingdom to gallop towards another rugged mountain road.

Mishui is the most important river that originates from Mount Bosi to the countries in the river, and eventually flows into the Amu River, the United States, Kang Kingdom, Xicao, He Kingdom, Dong'an Kingdom and even Anguo are all located on the banks of the Mishui River. It can be said that Mishui is the mother river of the countries in the river.

Mishui rushes from the southern foot of Bosi Mountain. After leaving Bosi Mountain, it immediately becomes smooth and wide, which is very conducive to shipping. The coarse silver ingots transported from Yincheng to Samarkand are waterways. Mishui is divided into two tributaries in Bosi Mountain. Yincheng is located in the middle of the northern tributary. However, this tributary flows rapidly and cannot sail. It takes fifty miles away to sail. Therefore, the Great Food Army of Yincheng built a pier at the place where it can sail. The camel fleet needs to transport the silver ingots from Yincheng to the pier first.

That morning, there were noisy people on the dock, and teams of slaves were carrying boxes of silver ingots onto the ship. Hundreds of big food soldiers were patrolling back and forth around the dock with spears in their hands.

After receiving the order from Dashi in China, nearly one million kilograms of coarse silver ingots and some gold ingots in Yincheng were to be transported to Samarkand. This was the casting volume of the silver mine in the past three years. Due to the Dashi civil war, silver ingots have been stored in Yincheng. This time, the Tang-A War broke out, and Dashi Weizier ordered the inventory of silver ingots to be transported back to the warehouse.

This time, the number of silver ingots transported was huge, and they were carried by water. They drove westward along dense water into Samarkand, and then turned into camels and transported by land to Khorasan Mulu. They were divided into three batches. The first batch had been transported ten days ago. This was the second batch and the largest batch. A total of 500,000 kilograms of silver and 30,000 kilograms of gold were transported, and more than 100 boats were moored in the river.

The ship is a flatbed ship transported by the Sogdians. It has a deep draft and a large carrying capacity, but its disadvantages are also very obvious, which is that it is bulky and inconvenient, and is generally transported by brigades.

As the last box of silver ingots was brought onto the ship, a big food officer shouted: "The loading is completed, prepare to set off!"

The fleet shook and set off slowly. The ships were connected by rough ropes, and a huge guide ship led the way in the front. This section of the water flow was relatively fast, and there was no power for the time being, and the ship was also faster. However, after traveling fifty or sixty miles, as the river surface widened, the water speed slowed down. The fleet was driven by insufficient power by the water flow alone. At this time, slaves were needed to pull on the shore. Therefore, another thousand slaves were walking with the ship.

At the same time, there were 300 Dashi cavalrymen with the ship, led by a cavalry regiment commander, and there was a Dashi soldier on each ship. The cavalrymen walked along the ship and arrived at the confluence of the two tributaries at dusk. From here, slaves will come to pull the ship. After walking for two days, they will arrive at the American capital Zhumabazar.

A thousand slaves could not keep up with the speed of the ship and were left far behind. As the water slowed down, the fleet lost its momentum and began to become slow and powerless, as if a long-distance marathon player was tired after reaching the finish line, and he was walking faster on the shore than it was.

The cavalry commander looked back anxiously, and night was gradually coming, but the slaves did not see the shadows. "These useless things!" He cursed secretly, and when it was too late, he ordered: "Camp on the spot and set off tomorrow morning!"

The fleet slowly landed, and the soldiers on the boat jumped ashore one after another. The soldiers of the Dashi lit several bonfires and began to roast lamb. Some of them were drinking with wine pots. The firelight made their faces red. They were talking about women and food, and the shore became extremely lively.

The Tang army scout camp passed through the long valley of Bosi Mountain and finally arrived at Mishui. This area is a low hill with beautiful scenery and lush grass and trees. It is a golden color of autumn. Berries are hanging on the branches. Countless colorful birds are jumping between the branches, pecking at the berries, and enjoying the gifts of nature. Mishui flows through the middle of the gentle low hills. The mountains and rivers are abundant in rain, and there are many clear springs in the mountains. Before reaching the plain, the dense water is already deep and the water flows rapidly, nourishing the rich and beautiful land on both sides of the shore.

As the Tang army accelerated its march, the sun had gradually set down on Bosi Mountain. The desolate twilight began to cover the dense water banks. Gray mist formed on the river surface. The coldness of late autumn invaded the Tang army's armor. They couldn't help but pull over their cloaks to wrap their bodies tightly.

"Buck, are there any caves or other camps in front of you?"

When Qin Haiyang saw a huge mountain appearing in front of him, he asked the soldiers of the Shi Kingdom who led the way.

Buck is the name of this Stone Soldier. He is a burly figure and an honest Sogdian hunter. He was once captured as a slave and worked as a coolie in the silver mine. During a silver mine riot last year, more than a hundred slaves escaped, and he was one of them. He knew the terrain of this area very well.

He shook his head and smiled, "There are no caves here, but there are countless huge caves on the silver mine. Each cave can accommodate hundreds of people. You can only camp by the river here. The woods are too humid, so staying for two nights will cause joint pain."

"Okay then! We'll camp on the spot and set off tomorrow."

As soon as he finished speaking, a whistle came from the front. A Tang army bent down and rushed towards him, whispering: "Captain, there is something ahead!"

Qin Haiyang was stunned and waved his hand quickly, ordering the Tang soldiers not to dismount. He jumped off the horse and led the two to run forward. There was a low hill ahead, blocking their sight. They rushed up the hills in one breath, and the hills were covered with shrubs. They lay in the bushes and looked into the distance, and they saw about five hundred steps away, several bonfires were particularly bright in the night. If they listened carefully, they would hear laughter floating in the wind.

"It's the Big Food Soldier!" Sogdian hunter Buck whispered, and he heard the familiar wild laughter of the Big Food Army.

Qin Haiyang was an old scout, and his eyesight was also very good. He quickly identified that there were about 500 enemy troops. At this time, he saw a fleet of ships by the river suddenly, which seemed to be full of cargo.

"I'll ask you, what will the Cannibal carry on the river?"

The earring Buck reacted suddenly and said excitedly: "It must be silver ingots, transported from Silver City to Samarkand. It has been shipped before."

"silver!"

Qin Haiyang's eyes lit up, and he smacked his lips and smiled: "I'm going to make a fortune."

He looked around the bonfire and saw the woods dozens of steps away from the Dashi soldiers, which was a god-given opportunity.

"There may be an ambushing army in the woods over there?"

"Captain, the woods are the same here. Whatever we look like here, what they look like there."

Qin Haiyang retreated and summoned several brigade coaches to discuss countermeasures with the team. They had 300 cavalry, and if they were prepared, they should be able to gain the upper hand. More importantly, there were more than 100 silver ships in the river, so how much silver should there be? They were each excited.

But soon they discovered a serious real problem. Even if they killed the Dashi Army, he might not be able to get one or two silvers. The river surface was too wide. When they killed the Dashi Army, the ship had already sailed to the other side. What should we do?

"It's better to burn the boat and let them sink to the bottom of the river. We can't take the silver anyway!" a brigade coach offered his advice.

Although Qin Haiyang wanted to make a fortune, he also knew that they were now in the control area of ​​the Great Cannibal. How could they take away the silver from the ship, burn it and sink it into the river? When they defeat the Great Cannibal in the future, they would slowly fish it out. They brought tincture oil, which was just right in hand.

"It's settled, burn the boat!"

Qin Haiyang made a decision, and the implementation below was not very difficult. They were all scouts. The scouts were equivalent to the special forces of the Tang army. They each had their own specialties, and there were also many good people. They quickly selected more than a dozen Tang soldiers with excellent water properties. They sneaked into the water with skins filled with tinder oil.

The remaining Tang army entered the dense forest. At this time, the night had just fallen, and the birds in the woods were still chirping and making noises. When the Tang army entered the woods, they immediately started a large number of birds and flew away in a daze. Fortunately, the Dashi Army did not notice the abnormality in the woods. Perhaps they had never thought that the Tang army would come here.

The news of these Dashi Army stationed at the silver mine was blocked. At most, they knew that the Tang army had occupied Tashkent. Tashkent was far away from here. Even if they came, news would come first. The news of the Tang army crossing the Yaoshen River a few days ago was unheard of.

It is no wonder that decades have passed since the great cannibals came to Bosishan to start mining. I have transported countless silver ingots, but never missed them. Today is just one of them. What will happen?

The bonfire was flying, and the big-food soldiers drank and ate meat with all their hearts. Several drunk soldiers danced in front of the bonfire.

"Are there any residents nearby? Let's find a few women!" a soldier shouted strangely.

Another soldier curled his lips and said disdainfully: "You dream! No one here? Let's go to Jumabazar the day after tomorrow, and we can go to the brothels in the city."

"Stop talking in my sleep!"

The commander of the Dashi Legion came over and patted the soldiers on the shoulders, and told them: "This time the silver transportation is of great importance. You should drink less wine. When you arrive in Samarkand, you will have enough drinks."

"Captain Razman, what are you worried about? Are you worried that the slaves will come to rebel and steal the money?"

The soldiers laughed loudly together. The commander of the Dashi Legion laughed twice, then quickly walked to the river, shook his body, and started peeing. While he was peeing, he looked at the other side of the river. The night was deep and he could no longer see the other side. At this time, he seemed to feel the boat shaking. He rubbed his eyes. It was wrong! Why did the boat close to the shore leave the shore? At this moment, a ball of flame appeared in front of him. He was stunned for a moment. It was guiding the big ship. How could there be fire on the boat? He suddenly shuddered all over and reacted, and turned around and shouted, "Hurry! The boat has a fire, come and put out the fire!"

Just as he turned around and shouted, a poisonous crossbow shot out from the water surface, shooting into the back of the commander of the Dashi Legion. With a "puff!", the crossbow shot into his body. He screamed and fell into the river.

The sudden occurrence of the riverside made all the soldiers stunned. They turned their heads and looked at the riverside. At the same time as the screams came, a clapper sound in the woods, hundreds of arrows roared from the woods, with the arrows very accurate, and each arrow took the vital points. The bonfire suddenly screamed in a mess, and the big food soldiers were in chaos. Many soldiers jumped up and stumbled towards the horses. The second round of arrows arrived again, and many people were shot while running, screaming and falling.

At this time, the ships on the river surface ignited a raging fire. The ships had already reached the center of the river. The ropes connecting the ships were burned. The ships filled with silver ingots were drifting in groups. After a while, there was a crackling sound on the river surface, and the ships began to break and sink.

On the river bank, the Tang army rushed out of the dense forest. They activated their war horses, wielded their swords and slashed the big food soldiers who were running around, or rode their horses and shot arrows to kill the big food soldiers who had already ridden on the war horses with one arrow. The big food soldiers shouted wildly, and their fear of death made them forget the silver ship and the resistance. They were only concerned about running away, but the effective deployment of the Tang army cut off their hope of escape. The Tang army surrounded them from three sides and ruthlessly killed every big food soldier.

Many big-food soldiers jumped into the river and were immediately stabbed to death by the Tang army in the water. In less than half an hour, the killing gradually came to an end. The burned tent was filled with black smoke, and corpses were everywhere. Blood gathered into blood and flowed into the river. The ships on the river surface basically sank to the bottom of the river, sinking into the range for several miles, and it was difficult to fish out without a month.

Although the Tang army massacred like a net, dozens of people were still escaped, most of whom jumped into the river to swim to the other side.

"Captain, what should we do now?" A brigade commander asked worriedly. If something happened to the silver ship, the Great Food Army would definitely come to support him. What should they do now?

Qin Haiyang lowered his head and pondered for a moment, and resolutely said: "If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you get a tiger's son? We will continue to march towards the silver mine and make him turn the world upside down."

The Tang army cleaned up a little, changed into the military uniforms and war horses of the big cannibals, threw all the corpses of the big cannibals into the river, and continued to gallop towards the silver mine.

At the same time as the Tang army's 300 scouts explored the Bosishan silver mine, 20,000 Tang troops arrived at the capital of Dongcao under the leadership of the Tang army general Li Guangbi, and set up a large camp ten miles away. Qi Yade's 30,000 mixed army also entered the capital one day earlier. He was not in a hurry to go out to fight, and the two armies were in a confrontation.

At this time, the Egyptian battle of Abbas was coming to an end, and Umayya's last royal family, Rahman, had escaped from Egypt and was on his way to Moldova, Spain.

Caliph Abbas's attention turned to the east, and he ordered Egyptian troops to return to Damascus, while Kufa's three legions went to Khorasan to support the war against the Tang Dynasty for the river.

At this time, the Tang Empire also achieved initial victory in the southwest battle. After half a year of training, Gao Xianzhi recruited 50,000 new soldiers, led by Gao Xianzhi, defeated the Nanzhao army that was trying to advance north to Shu in Jiazhou. The Nanzhao King Piluoge was forced to retreat to Yaozhou.

Gao Xianzhi's victory greatly boosted the morale of the Tang army. After the rear was stabilized, Li Longji turned his attention to the distant Western Regions. The report of Li Qing'an occupying Shiguo made him extremely excited. He immediately approved the agreement with the Shiguo Alliance, and ordered the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue to recruit 20,000 military households from Hedong and Guanzhong to Anxi, and sent 100,000 weapons from the ordnance warehouse to Anxi, and fully supported the Tang army's struggle for the Sogdian region. The war between the Tang Dynasty and the Abbasid Dynasty began to escalate unconsciously.
Chapter completed!