In the mountains and hills leading to Talas City, the pursuing Tang army had spread into a long line, like a large net catching individual fish.
In the first half of the journey from Zhenzhu River to Kesai City, the Tang army was still gathering these groups of Dashi prisoners, but in the second half of the chase, no one had such leisure. When they encountered scattered enemy troops, they directly robbed them.
Killed and took the head.
Although Dr. Li has always announced that every prisoner captured is worth fifty cents per head, most people still think that it is inconvenient to lead a big living person to chase, not to mention the language barrier between the two parties, and even loneliness has no effect on relieving boredom. It is better to have less
Earning fifty dollars is a pleasure.
Not far away, on the sun-drenched Gobi Desert, a fleeing Dashi soldier was holding a walking stick and his clothes were torn. His chainmail had long been thrown halfway. Every time he ran a few steps, he had to look back to see that the Tang army was catching up from behind.
.
Although he had not eaten for three days, he still used a walking stick to support his body and forced himself to move forward. He heard the sound of horse hooves beating behind him. He subconsciously turned around and waved the half-cut scimitar.
He raised his sword high and struck down. The soldiers fell into a pool of blood.
The cavalryman turned around and shouted to the 7th infantryman of the Tang Army who was lagging behind: "I gave this to you for free."
…
At the end of August, the Tang army officially arrived at Talas City. The few food troops left behind in the city had already fled. The Ningyuan Kingdom and Ge Luolu troops also came to the city. That night, the three parties held a small bonfire dinner in the open space in the city.
Even after the war, there was still no shortage of entertainment activities in the city. Kangju beauties scattered across the river danced around the bonfire, causing the soldiers sitting on the ground to applaud.
Li Siye sat in the middle, Geluolu Yehudun Piga and Ningyuan King Dou Xida sat on either side of him, frequently raising their glasses to him.
"Doctor Li planned a strategy and defeated Abu Dhabi's elite army in one fell swoop, which makes us admire and admire him."
The boasting abilities of these ethnic minorities did not have any technical content, which sounded embarrassing. Li Siye could only pretend to be very helpful and return the favor with a glass of wine.
"Doctor Li has accomplished the extraordinary feat of defeating the Great Food Army. The saint will be very happy when he returns to Chang'an to report his merits. When the time comes, he will move to the left to open the Yitong Sansi Division, and he may be granted the title of king."
He put down the wine cup, supported the table surface with both hands, looked at the two people from left to right, and said with a smile: "What kind of feat is this? There are places in the river such as Kangjukangdi, An'anguo, Nanmi Miguo, and Fashashiguo.
The capital of Kushan is still in the hands of the Great Eater. Fourteen of the eighteen states of Tochar are in the hands of the Great Eater. How can I have the nerve to go to Chang'an to demand merit from the saint?"
The two of them were stunned. They were sure that Li Siye would have something shocking to say next.
"This credit is not great, what does Doctor Li want to do?"
"What do you want?" He chuckled and said, "Since we won the first battle, there will be another battle next. Dun Yehu, King Ningyuan, I want to collect food to complete the repairs in six days. Each person will prepare two months of dry food.
A long-distance raid was carried out to attack Samarkand, the hometown of Kangju, Bukhara city in Parthian state, Mulu city, an important military town in Dashi, Herat, an important border town, and Tusi city, the capital of Khorasan."
Sure enough, there is a kind of person who dares not to flatter, but wants to go to heaven as soon as he is flattered. Li Siye does not understand the principle of giving up when something is good, and still wants to lead the army to fight in the river, and also wants to go straight to the capital of Khorasan. The Great Food Army
You have also seen that their combat effectiveness is on par with the Tibetan army. It is impossible to win forever against such a powerful enemy.
"Doctor Li, please think again. Although our three armies have wiped out 70,000 elite troops of the Great Food Army, there are still many armies like this under the command of Abu. Therefore, I suggest that the doctor digest the current victory results first, and then plan for the future.
How about it?"
This was Dunbijia's words of advice that were half selfish and half worried for him. Even King Douxida of Ningyuan was not optimistic about his victory, so he remained silent. Li Siye raised his head and looked at the Tang army general sitting at the bottom.
They asked: "What do you think? Do you think I should go on a long expedition when our army is at its peak, or should I give up the offensive and maintain the current victory results?"
Cheng Qianli took the lead and crossed his hands and said hesitantly: "Doctor Li, between us and Dashi, there is a buffer between Congling and the river. If we insist on taking the river into our hands, it will be the same as the border with the country of Dashi.
Adjacent, this is not good for the situation, it is better to maintain the status quo. In this battle, we defeated the 70,000 elite troops of the Great Eater Army. We are proud to have defeated three times the enemy. Presumably the Great Eater knows how powerful it is, so he will not
If you dare to provoke me again, there is no need to cause trouble."
Li Siye thought to himself that Cheng Qianli had selfish motives and personal thoughts, so he could not be trusted.
He then asked the Deputy Protector Wang Zhengjian who was sitting below him: "Zhengjian, where are you?"
Wang Zhengjian was already a veteran in his fifties, with a gray beard hanging down on his chest like autumn grass. He crossed his hands and said to Li Siye: "Doctor Li, although I support Cheng Duhu's opinion, if the doctor wants to go on a long expedition, I, Wang Zhengjian, am willing to do it."
forward."
Look, this veteran will still speak, and neither party will be offended.
Li Siye asked Ma Li again: "What did General Ma say?"
Ma Phosphorus said calmly: "I support what General Cheng Qianli said, but I don't agree with what he said later. Defeating three times the enemy may not necessarily scare the food army. We should stay firmly on the line of Talas City and send troops here.
Stay behind instead of continuing the expedition."
He finally turned his attention to Tian Zhen and Duan Xiushi. If they objected, the expedition could be abandoned. After all, forcefulness is not sweet, and going against the morale of the military is inherently unfavorable.
Tian Zhen stood up with the wine bowl and said loudly: "I don't know about others, but I, Lao Tian, support the doctor's expedition for no other reason than that. Since we have won, why don't we continue the fight? What if these 70,000 people are...
What about the strongest combat power of the Dashi Army? What if the people they left behind are worse than them? If we don’t fight now, when their strength recovers, they have already figured out the way of our Tang Army. If we want to defeat them in one battle, we will not be able to defeat them.
It’s easier.”
Li Siye nodded calmly, feeling very emotional in his heart, Tian Zhen deservedly came out of Chang'an with me, and he had the same views as he was considered a hero.
"Duan Xiushi, what about you?"
Duan Xiushi also stood up and said frankly: "I support Dr. Li's long-distance attack on Kang Ju's hometown and seize control of the river from the cannibals. There is never any buffer in defending the territory. As long as the enemy's ambition is strong enough, they don't care.
The mountains and rivers are rugged. We don't care either. Don't forget that during the Longshuo period of Emperor Gaozong, the Thirty-six Kingdoms were attached to the west of Congling. Emperor Emperor Gaozong named them Sima, the governor of Jisi Prefecture. This was originally our territory! It was only because of the great food country later.
With the continuous eastward invasion, Empress Wu came to power in the middle of the court, and there was the Webster Rebellion, the imperial court moved westward without any flaws, so the old land in Hezhong fell into the hands of the enemy. Now that the doctor has won the first battle, he has defeated and eliminated the elite main force of the food army. It is even more important to take advantage of this opportunity.
Go west, take back all the territory in the river and the Tocharo territory, and restore the territory of the Western Regions that I had during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty!"
Li Siye stood up with a roar. This could be said to be from the bottom of his heart. However, the ratio of approval and disapproval was still dominated by opponents. He turned his head and looked to the right behind him. Supervisor Bian Lingcheng was lying on the table.
Chew on a deer bone.
He then smiled, patted the eunuch on the shoulder and said, "Mr. Bian, what do you think, Mr. Bian?"
Bian Lingcheng waved up his sleeves, wiped his greasy lips, and said with a smile: "This is a matter for your generals. What else can we say? But since it is difficult to make a decision, it is better to report it to Your Majesty in the last letter. Your Majesty will come down."
How do you decide?"
"My Lord, Talas is thousands of miles away from Chang'an. It will take more than three months at the fastest for the memorial to be sent to Chang'an and His Majesty's holy orders to be transmitted from Chang'an. By then, all the dishes will be cold."
Bian Lingcheng said with a smile: "Since you know that Chang'an is thousands of miles away, you know that your Majesty has established the responsibility of border envoys. What is an ambassador? The emperor cannot patrol the border himself, so he uses imperial envoys to patrol the hunting grounds on his behalf. Doctor Li, you
You are His Majesty's substitute at this moment. You have to think about what decision Your Majesty would make if he were here, and you just have to do it."
He nodded suddenly, rubbed his palms and said: "Understood, the entire army will be reorganized for seven days to prepare two months of dry food, and the Anbeiting Allied Forces will set off in seven days!"