The first thousand two hundred and thirty-two chapters disappeared Tatar main force
On the hilltop of the canyon outside the city, Anda Khan set up his Chinese army camp here, not in Nanlimbao.
Although Nanlinbao has better defense capabilities, it is still too small. When the Tang Army first built it and rebuilt it several times, due to time constraints and the shortage of manpower and resources, the buildings were not very big.
It was originally designed to accommodate only 1,000 people. Later, during the third reconstruction, it was expanded to a certain extent, but it could only accommodate 2,000 people.
The Army of the Tang Dynasty actually didn't pay much attention to this kind of earthen fortress, and never planned to deploy too many troops. If the enemy came to attack, it would be broken if it was broken, and it would be able to counterattack when they turned around.
Therefore, although Nanlimbao was occupied, for the nearly 40,000 troops under Anda Khan, it was actually no different from being in the wilderness. 40,000 people could not garrison in the small Nanlimbao.
Therefore, Anda Khan stationed most of his troops outside the city, leaving only more than 2,000 people to garrison inside the city. It was not that he did not want to send more troops, but that he could not put them down and forced so many troops to be squeezed in.
People are useless.
And Ada Khan himself went directly to the top of the mountain to set up his own Chinese army camp. He would wait for the barbarians of the Southern Tang Dynasty here and then fight to the death!
Although he was standing on the top of the mountain with a single-channel telescope produced by the Tang Dynasty in his hand, the terrain here was not really a flat plain. There were also relatively low rolling hills, plus the top of the mountain he occupied
Although it is said to be the top of a mountain, it is actually just a low mountain top, and it is impossible to see too far away.
Nothing was found in the telescope, so Anda Khan put down the telescope and handed it to the attendant on the side. The attendant took it carefully, wrapped it carefully in silk cloth, and put it in a wooden box.
Telescopes are rare items for Tatars.
Although it is said that the Tang Dynasty has already mass-produced telescopes with glass lenses, and even sold them to the private sector, the sales were limited and usually only sold to those registered captains of the Tang Empire, because when the telescopes first came out, they were imported into the country.
The Export Council has included it in the list of export controlled materials.
Except for those captains, it is basically not sold to other civilians. As for exporting to foreign countries, there is no hope, so there are very few telescopes in foreign countries.
The pair of telescopes in Anda Khan's hands are just like the cannons under his hands, they are trophies!
The long strategic confrontation, the occurrence of many small and medium-sized armed conflicts, and the continuous fighting between the two sides in the past few months, resulted in the fact that although the Tang Army was able to capture many Tatar horses, the Tatars
It was also possible to capture part of the Tang Army's ordnance, including flintlocks and even artillery, bullets, shells, telescopes and other military supplies, but the quantity was not very large.
Take artillery for example. When the Tang Army retreated, if they couldn't take away the artillery, they would often choose to blow up the barrel directly. It was very simple, just overcharge the gun and fire it.
As for telescopes, these items are usually issued to the school-level officers of the Tang Dynasty, and items belonging to the school-level officers of the Tang Dynasty are not so easy to seize.
Of course, just because it's hard to get doesn't mean it's not available. Many of the senior generals of the Ming Dynasty had a pair of telescopes from the Tang Army.
After putting down the telescope, An Dahan did not continue to stare outside, but turned around and entered the tent. It was already early winter, and the weather was very cold. A blizzard was just around the corner to completely announce the arrival of winter.
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Fighting in such cold weather is not a pleasant thing.
But war is something that can be fought at any time, especially the troops of the Tang Dynasty. They are all professional armies, so they can fight all year round regardless of the busy farming season.
The Army of the Tang Dynasty had long expected that this Battle of Hetao would last from autumn to winter, or even into spring, because it had fully prepared all kinds of supplies.
A large number of autumn and winter clothes have been prepared, so the soldiers of the Tang Army wear thick cotton-padded jackets to fight. In addition, the Ninth Army has been stationed in the north for a long time and has long been accustomed to cold weather.
What is the problem of not being accustomed to the climate?
As for the Tatars, they live freely on the northern grasslands, so naturally there is no problem of getting used to it.
The weather was cold, so many Tatar soldiers would not foolishly line up outside. Instead, they would hide in tents in leeward places.
The tents of tens of thousands of troops are almost all over the mountains and plains. People can see from a distance that there are troops stationed here. Anyone who is idle should get out!
Anda Khan had no intention of concealing his intentions. He didn't even bother to intercept and kill the reconnaissance cavalry of the Tang Army along the way, but exposed his strategic intentions.
He just wanted to cut off this supply line, and he just wanted to force the Tang Army to fight with him in the wilderness!
Although a decisive battle is risky, it is still much better than storming a city like Dongsheng City.
As everyone knows, Deng Xide also had this idea. He led his troops all the way eastward. After arriving at Zhenlu City, the reconnaissance cavalry sent back news that Nanlin Fort had been breached again.
South Limburg was captured, and Deng Xide couldn't help but feel infected. South Limburg was really unlucky. Why did the Tatars choose to capture this place every time? However, he didn't care much about the safety of South Limburg. There were only more than a thousand people on his left and right.
casualties, and it will definitely cause many Tatar cavalry casualties, so it’s not a loss.
What he was more concerned about was that the Tatars stayed in South Limburg. Instead of leaving only part of the troops to garrison after capturing South Limburg as usual, the main force would withdraw.
Today, the main force of the Tatars is stationed in South Limburg, as if they want to spend the winter here!
Deng Xide didn't know whether the Tatars would spend the winter in South Limburg, but since the Tatars stayed in South Limburg, he wouldn't be polite!
Immediately, an order was sent to the First Corps, which was staying south of Yulin City, to quickly find the vicinity of Nanlinbao and prepare to join the Ninth Army headquarters and the cavalry regiment. At the same time, more reconnaissance cavalry were sent to closely monitor every move of the Tatar cavalry.
Once the enemy's main force changes, he will also make corresponding adjustments.
Time passes day by day!
Deng Xide led his troops eastward from Zhenlu City, and the First Corps also set off from Yulin City, preparing to go to Nanlinbao.
This east and one west, the two armies are heading straight to South Limburg!
However, the Tatars still did not move!
When a Tatar general proposed to attack one of the routes first, Anda Khan said wait, wait!
When?
Wait until the Tang Army in the east is far enough away from Yulin City, so far away that they cannot withdraw to Yulin City in time!
At that time, Anda Khan will defeat them one by one, using the powerful mobility of the cavalry to create a time difference.
Although the Datang Army did not know yet about Anda Khan's plan, it had expected it. However, both the Ninth Army Headquarters and the First Corps continued to move towards Nanlimbao with firm steps.
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Even if Ada Khan wanted to defeat them one by one, the Tang Army would give them this opportunity. Otherwise, how could they have a strategic decisive battle with them.
A very important goal of the series of arrangements for the Battle of Hetao was to get an opportunity for a decisive battle with the Tatars, and through a strategic decisive battle, to inflict heavy losses and even annihilate the enemy's main cavalry.
For this reason, Deng Xide would not hesitate to pay a certain amount of losses.
Whether it is the headquarters of the Ninth Army or the First Corps, they are all bait used to show weakness. As long as the Tatars dare to open their mouths and swallow them, he will dare to keep these Tatars completely.
The two sides said it was a battle of wits and courage, but in the end, they still had to rely on the hard power of both sides to solve the problem.
Because so far, both sides have not exposed too many obvious loopholes. The Tatars have not made mistakes, and the Tang Army has not made mistakes. Although both sides have fought several small and medium-sized battles, each side has
The casualties were considerable, but it still failed to change the situation.
But this situation cannot last forever. The Tatars wanted to remove the nail in Dongsheng City, so they chose to cut off the supply line of the Ninth Army of the Tang Army, forcing the Tang Army to re-open the supply line. In the process,
Fight decisively and strive to defeat the Tang Army in the wild.
In order to force the Tatars to completely withdraw from the Loop and annihilate the main force of the Tatars, Dongsheng City was established and a long and fragile supply line was maintained. Now the main force is gathering towards South Limburg. This is of course to open up the supply line.
But it is also for a strategic decisive battle with the enemy.
When the strategies of both sides are geared toward a decisive battle, a decisive battle can only occur in this vast grassland terrain.
Otherwise, if one of the parties chooses to escape or defend the city, this decisive battle will not be fought.
At dusk on the fourth day after capturing South Limburg, the reconnaissance cavalry of the Ninth Army suddenly reported back on horseback, saying that today the main force of the Tatars had all set off and headed east.
As soon as Deng Xide learned the news, he immediately sent an order to the entire army: "Order the entire army to speed up the march, and then order the cavalry corps to speed up and march eastward to assist the First Corps!"
He guessed that the Tatars were ready to swallow the temptation of the First Corps, and he should be ready to close the thread.
But the next morning, Deng Xide received a report from the reconnaissance cavalry, saying that the reconnaissance cavalry was suddenly hunted down by a large number of Tatar cavalry, and it was difficult to break through the Tatar cavalry blockade and reach the First Corps.
In the afternoon of that day, Deng Xide sent out a reconnaissance force consisting of a cavalry regiment, which broke through the Tatar blockade and headed towards the first corps. In the early morning of the next day, fast horses returned to the first corps one after another.
The Ninth Army was stationed and reported the news to Deng Xide that the First Corps had not been attacked by the enemy.
No main Tatar cavalry troops were found along the way!
The Tatars did not go to fight the 1st Corps, so where did they go?
While Deng Xide received the report from the reconnaissance cavalry, in a small basin more than 20 kilometers away from the Ninth Army, Kang Changning was stunned when he saw the Tatar cavalry coming slowly in front of him.
After being stunned for a few seconds, he suddenly cursed: "Damn it, what happened to the scouts on the periphery? Why didn't they send out an alarm in advance?"
Then he turned to a group of subordinates and said: "What are you still doing in a daze? You are waiting to die. Hurry up and form a formation to fight!"