One month before Guo Ziyi arrived in Dunhuang City.
At Longle Mountain Pass, horses neighed and the sound of hoofbeats shook the sky.
Thirteen divisions of the six wings of the Tubo Army, totaling 110,000 troops, gathered on the south side of the foothills and began to slowly move to the north.
As the commander-in-chief, Sang Chiruo stood on the hill, facing the hunting breeze, and looked at the densely packed Tibetan warriors marching forward in the valley without saying a word.
Not far from him, many Tubo families and nobles gathered together.
These people looked up at Sang Chiruo.
Someone whispered: "The treacherous boy from the Gar family, who is as cunning as a fox, has now gained Zuzan's favor and has actually become the head coach."
Someone said: "He has some abilities, but he is just a cunning and cruel evil man...I heard that he even killed the woman he loved most with his own hands."
The faint sound of discussion in his ears did not make Sang Chiruo's expression change at all.
Yin Tu, the general of the Shankui Army, walked up to Sang Chiruo and said in a deep voice: "The soldiers are all ready."
Sang Chiruo nodded and said: "Give the order and send out the rangers as the front line, harassing everywhere as before, attracting the attention of the Tang army, and cutting off the communication between the Tang army's outposts and Rongbao. As for most of the Chinese army, they followed the dragon
Le Mountain Range, detour to the northwest, with the goal of Yangguan."
Yin Tu: “Aren’t we going to attack Dunhuang?”
Sang Chiruo: "When hunting, even though the prey has not moved, the sound of arrows breaking through the wind will immediately alert it. Therefore, before shooting at the prey, you must first aim at the direction in which it may escape.
Move some."
When Yin Tu heard this, he was confused and murmured in his heart. He clearly mentioned fighting just now, so why did he suddenly say hunting again?
Seeing this, Sang Chiruo's face was full of helplessness, and he whispered to himself: "Sometimes, I really wish there was a smart person around me."
After the Tubo cavalry captured the outpost set up by the Tang army at Longle Mountain Pass, they then dragged the branches behind their horses and divided them into dozens of squads. They made surprise attacks everywhere without stopping, pretending to be harassing everyone.
Suddenly, Tubo people appeared everywhere in Shazhou, and beacon fire smoke rose everywhere.
Duan Xiushi, the governor of Shazhou and the envoy of the Doulu Army, was in Dunhuang Prefecture and constantly received reports on the enemy's situation from all over the place, like snowflakes.
At the military council, a general suggested to Duan Xiushi: "Similar to the situation in previous years, the Tubo troops are divided into small groups and are raiding Shazhou everywhere. The purpose is to plunder property and seize farmland. Our army should also do what we did before.
Divide your troops into many places and defeat them one by one."
Duan Xiushi looked at the locations marked with attacks on the map, and after thinking for a long time, he said: "Something is wrong. This year's harassment by the Tubo Rangers has more troops than in previous years, and the locations where they were attacked are also more numerous than in previous years."
Spread out some."
When the military general heard this, someone asked: "Are the military envoys worried that the Tibetans are trying to hide the truth?"
Duan Xiushi nodded, picked up a charcoal pencil, and framed all the attacked locations on the map with black lines.
Looking at the black box in the picture, Duan Xiushi thought for a long time and finally gave the order: "Send out all the scouts, expand the search area, order the Doulu Army to prepare and set off, and then order the Yumen Army to come to Dunhuang and join us."
The Doulu Army had 4,500 men and the Yumen Army had 3,900 men, totaling more than 8,000 men.
Some generals in the army felt that it would be a bit of a fuss to use so many troops to deal with a mere Tubo cavalry.
But Duan Xiushi insisted on this, and said that it was more important to be cautious, so everyone could only say that.
A few days later, the Tubo army headed north to Yangguan, and was discovered by Tang army scouts on the way.
After Duan Xiushi heard the news, he led the Doulu Army and the Yumen Army on a hasty march to a fort at Shanque Peak and began to build fortifications in preparation for facing the Tibetan army.
Shanquefeng Rongbao is a medium-sized Rongbao commonly seen in the Tang army. It is 150 meters long and 150 meters wide. The city wall is 3.5 meters high. It has a watchtower and a female wall and can accommodate a thousand soldiers.
At first, Duan Xiushi received the news that the Tibetan army had about 15,000 people.
However, half a day later, this number changed to 38,000 people.
Half a day later, the strength of the Tibetan army increased to 100,000, and reinforcements seemed to be coming continuously.
What is the concept of 100,000 Tibetan troops?
The six northern wings of Tubo, including Doma, Yamotang, Domi, etc., many feudal nobles, and their standing military forces add up to roughly this number.
In other words, the Tibetan army was mobilized in full force this time.
Duan Xiushi knew that the situation was serious and quickly issued several orders.
1. Messengers were dispatched urgently from 800 miles away, sending letters requesting aid to Anxi, Beiting, Guazhou and other places, and reporting to the imperial court.
Second, take out the Crouching Tiger Cannon, gunpowder and other weapons and equipment from the Dunhuang arsenal and urgently transfer them to the front line.
Third, evacuate the people and businesses in Yangguan, Daqixian and other places. In order to avoid panic, they only announced to the outside world that Tibetan troops were harassing the border.
When these three orders were issued, some generals in the army suggested that Duan Xiushi lead the Doulu Army and Yumen Army to retreat to Dunhuang.
After Duan Xiushi thought about it for a while, he rejected the proposal.
His reasons are threefold:
1. Shanquefeng Rongbao is located in the southwest of Dunhuang, between the foothills. It is a strategic commanding height. It can not only look at the surrounding situation, but is also easy to defend and difficult to attack. The terrain is dangerous. According to the terrain here, the Tibetan army can be
The military advantage is reduced to the minimum.
Second, not far to the north of Shanque Peak are Shouchang and Yangguan. Once they abandon this place, the Tibetan army can directly attack the entrance of Daqi Commercial Road. The merchants and residents there have not yet evacuated. Once they encounter the enemy, they will
Will suffer disaster.
Third, one hundred of the Crouching Tiger Cannons produced by the Anxi Arsenal are stored in the Dunhuang Arsenal, and the corresponding gunpowder, iron sand, etc. are also readily available. Duan Xiushi has seen the power of the Crouching Tiger Cannon, which is why he can defend the mountain peak.
’s greatest reliance.
A few days later, when Duan Xiushi built a fort at the peak of the mountain and built fortifications, the Tibetan army finally appeared in the sight of the Tang army.
Standing on the outer wall of the Rongbao, looking down the mountain, there are Tibetan soldiers all over the mountains and plains.
The wind and sand kicked up by the march of the army were like a sandstorm, covering the plains and making it difficult to see the ground clearly.
Sang Chiruo, who was in the Tubo Central Army, was also surprised when he learned that Duan Xiushi led eight thousand Tang troops and was stationed in the Rong Fort at Shanque Peak.
He did not expect that the Tang army could actually see through the suspicious soldiers and move so quickly, capturing the last barrier to Dunhuang City in time.
Sang Chiruo, who was riding on the horse, sighed: "When I was in the Tubo Kingdom, I never heard of Duan Xiushi's extraordinary achievements. I always thought that he was an ordinary official. However, today, this person gave up Dunhuang.
The city guards dared to stop an army of 100,000 men with only 8,000 soldiers. They were really brave and resourceful... It can be seen that there are really many talented people in the Tang Kingdom."
When Yin Tu heard this, he said unconvinced: "There are thousands of households, and the five thousand warriors under my command are all good at fighting one against a hundred. As long as you give the order, I will rush up the mountain and chop down that Duan Xiushi, and then
Bring his head to you!"
Sang Chiruo shook his head and said with a smile: "You don't need to be impulsive. During festivals, the better the hunter, the later he will appear... As for the opening performer, I already have a candidate in mind."
As Sang Chiruo spoke, he cast his gaze not far away to those thousands of Tubo households and nobles who were talking loudly.