It started to drizzle in the sky, and it was so gloomy that there was not a trace of sunshine in sight.
On the ground, continuous torches illuminated the mountains and forests.
Thousands of Tibetan prisoners, escorted by Tang army soldiers, marched in groups on the mountain roads.
And at the end of their journey, there are deep pits with a diameter of 100 meters one after another, like the mouth of the abyss, quietly waiting for its prey.
Some Tibetan people cried bitterly and lay on the ground, not wanting to move forward.
The barbed iron whip was mercilessly swung down, hitting the prisoners' backs, tearing away a piece of flesh and blood, and also completely taking away their hope for survival.
The Tibetan prisoners, whose hands and feet were bound with ropes, walked numbly forward.
Reaching the edge of the pit, the leader looked down. There were squirming and struggling compatriots everywhere inside.
Weeping, wailing, begging for mercy, cursing, all kinds of different voices, like echoes from hell, linger in the pit.
Seeing the prisoners standing at the entrance of the pit, hesitating, Yuhou of the Tang army who was in charge of the execution shouted loudly.
A soldier of the Tang Army held a wooden shovel. He first hit the prisoner on the crook of his legs to make him kneel down, and then kicked him into a deep pit.
One person fell in, and the binding rope pulled the next person.
A group of prisoners, like dominoes, fell into the pit one by one.
Along with the Tang army, Marquis Yu shouted: "Bury!"
Mud mixed with rainwater fell in one after another, filling up the deep pits one after another, completely submerging all traces of life.
There was a viewing platform on the hill. The Tibetan nobles, including the Second Prime Minister Dun Renzin, stood on the edge of the platform and watched the chilling scene in front of them.
Some Tibetan nobles could not bear the miserable situation before them, and their bodies twitched and they fainted.
There were also some Tubo nobles who couldn't stand such fright, and their lower bodies were covered with feces and urine.
In the middle of the high platform, Kong You, the imperial censor, General Guo Xin of Anxi, and a group of Tang generals were sitting under a canopy, looking at the execution site in the mountains and forests.
Kong You tapped the table with his fingers and chanted: "Spring comes and the year is sad. We haven't seen each other yet. The clouds have dispersed thousands of miles away. There are still tears left in the flute..."
All that came to his ears were the wails of the Tubo people. Kong You actually had the leisure to compose poems elegantly at this time. Guo Xin couldn't bear it anymore and interrupted: "Kong Zhongcheng, last time we killed four thousand soldiers, this time.
Another 17,000...20,000 people were buried alive like this. Will the court officials talk about this matter?"
Kong You: "His Majesty issued an edict at that time, saying that the official was not guilty. After that, there were many clear opinions and remonstrances in the court... However, this group of people said that Wang Shi was moral, but secretly they all had
handle."
Thinking of Kong You's other identity besides censor Zhongcheng, Guo Xin immediately understood.
Guo Xin asked Kong You: "The rest of the Tubo people were buried, but Kong Zhongcheng left those Tubo nobles alone. Why is that?"
Kong You: "General, do you still remember that You once said that the fundamental purpose of the Battle of Chang'an was not to retreat from the enemy, but to instigate the relationship between Tibet and its allies and shake the foundation of the Tubo Kingdom?"
Guo Xin: "Remember."
Kong You: "These Tubo nobles are the key to this plan."
Guo Xin thought for a long time and did not know how to use this group of Tibetan nobles to instigate rebellion against Tibet and its allies.
I can’t figure it out, I simply don’t think about it.
Guo Xin said to Kong You: "Zhongcheng, I'm afraid there may be some trouble in the army."
Kong You: "Trouble?"
Guo Xin: "In the battle of Fengxiang Pass, our army used musketeers to fight. The loss of sergeants was very small, but the ammunition consumption was staggering."
After pausing for a moment, Guo Xin continued: "The front troops under my command are all cavalry. The supplies they carry with them are inherently limited. Although the prefectures and counties along the way can supply some gunpowder, musket projectiles are only available in Anxi and Liangzhou.
Inventory. Although the battle at Fengxiang Pass two days ago lasted only half an hour, I did not expect that so much ammunition would be used."
Kong You: "How many muskets and ammunition are there in the army now?"
Guo Xin: "There are still three thousand muskets. The ammunition is evenly distributed to each person, and there are only six rounds."
Kong You: "How many days will it take for the rear army's baggage team to arrive at Jingzhou?"
Guo Xin: "There are about ten days left."
After thinking about it, Kong You said: "Once the military report of the battle at Fengxiang Pass reaches the Tibetan army, the Tubo people have only two choices. Either go all out to capture the city of Chang'an, gain a foothold in the capital, and then use Chang'an
The supplies in the arsenal are used to arm the Tibetan army. Or, just to be on the safe side, we start to withdraw our troops and prepare to retreat westward and return to the plateau."
Guo Xin frowned and said: "Our army's ammunition supply has almost bottomed out. At this time, whether the Tubo army is attacking Chang'an or planning to escape back to Tubo, our army can only move from darkness to light, and fight with the remaining
The Tubo army launched a desperate fight. However, no matter what the situation was, under the premise of lack of rear army baggage, only 10,000 cavalry troops wanted to completely defeat the Tubo army, and then get rid of the Tubo Da Lun Sang Chiruo.
, I’m afraid it’s not easy.”
Kong You heard this and remained silent.
Seeing that Kong You was deep in thought, Guo Xin consciously closed her mouth.
After a while, Kong You said to Guo Xin: "If we just delay it for ten days, there is a way."
Guo Xin was stunned: "Zhongcheng has a plan?"
Kong You waved and signaled Guo Xin to come over.
The latter came closer.
Kong You whispered a few words.
After hearing this, Guo Xin opened his eyes wide, shook his head and said loudly: "This plan is really risky, if something goes wrong...!"
Kong You smiled and said: "General Guo just goes and makes arrangements, and you will take care of it."
In the evening of the next day, the Tubo army camped.
Sang Chiruo was sitting in the upper seat, listening to the discussion of the generals in the tent, his brows furrowed into the character "Chuan".
A Tubo general shouted: "We all know how many Tang troops there are near Chang'an. We fought all the way. First, Jingzhou City was attacked, and then the 30,000-strong army of Prime Minister Dun Renzeng was defeated miserably at Fengxiang Pass. Only near Chang'an
Can the Tang army in the prefectures and counties do this? In my opinion, it must be the Tang army in the south that quickly returned to the defense and set up an ambush to defeat our army... Moreover, the rumor that Guo Ziyi came to Jingzhou in person may not be a lie.
."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Another Tubo general refuted: "Guo Ziyi led hundreds of thousands of troops, thousands of miles away from Chang'an, how could he return to defend Jingzhou so quickly?
The defeats at Fufu and Fengxiang Pass, I think, may have been due to the defeat of the Tang army, who recruited civilian men as auxiliary soldiers, and took advantage of our army's underestimation of the enemy to defeat Lord Dun Renzeng."
Someone shouted: "How do you explain the new weapons of the Tang army that appeared in Fengxiang Pass? How could a group of defeated soldiers and farmers obtain such advanced weapons? It must be the regular Tang army from the south who returned to defend. Even if Guo Ziyi did not lead the army personally, it was under his command
general as the coach.”
Sang Chiruo raised his hand to stop everyone's quarrel and asked: "Let's not talk about whether the Tang army in the south will return to defense. Let me ask you, in the next battle of Chang'an, should we continue to fight or should we retreat?
"
A Tibetan general said: "The general theory is that if the Tang army in the south returned to defend, then the one who defeated Tun Renzeng at Fengxiang Pass was probably their vanguard force, and more and more Tang troops would come in the future. I think, I
The army should retreat now. If we leave too late, once the Tang army gathers its forces, it will be too late even if we want to leave."
A Tubo general added: "Big talk, last night, if the left prime minister of Tang Dynasty hadn't suddenly appeared, Shan Wei's army should have captured the south gate... We are only one step away from taking Chang'an. How can we do it here?"
When is the time to withdraw? Ten thousand steps back, even if the Tang army in the south returns to the defense, as long as our army takes Chang'an, obtains the armaments in the city, plunders the city's goods, has firearms in hand, and has high morale, we can still have a fight with the Tang army.
force."
When Sang Chiruo heard this, he rubbed his forehead vigorously.
He is still hesitant whether to continue attacking Chang'an or to withdraw his troops.
If they continue to attack Chang'an and Dun Renzeng's 30,000 Tibetan troops are defeated by the Tang army equipped with new weapons, this means that reinforcements from the Tang state are arriving one after another. If they don't leave at this time, they will eventually be surrounded.
However, Sang Chiruo would not be willing to withdraw his troops.
General Yin Tu led five hundred Shankai troops and almost broke through the city gate last night.
Facts have also proved that Chang'an's defense is weak, and it seems that the Tibetan army can completely capture this richest city in the world with just a little more force.
Just when Sang Chiruo was hesitating, a soldier came to report from outside the tent, saying that the Tang army had a letter and asked to bring it to the Tibetans.
Sang Chiruo was surprised at first, then he opened the letter and looked surprised while reading it.
The Tibetan general on the side asked: "Big talk, what do the Chang'an defenders say?"
Sang Chiruo put down the letter, shook his head and said: "It's not the defenders in Chang'an City, but the Tang army who ambushed Dun Renzeng. One of their advisers, named Kong You, wrote to me, asking to meet and talk."