According to the previously agreed combat plan, Guo Song led the three hundred eagle attack troops to leave Kucha City at night and disappeared into the night. The next day, coach Guo Xin visited the King of Kucha again and informed the Tibetan coalition about to attack Kucha.
The news was told to King Qiuci. As usual, King Qiuci would usually retreat westward with the residents of the city.
The atmosphere of war began to envelope Kucha City, but the people who were accustomed to war did not panic. The Tibetan army had just arrived at Puchanghai, which was still far away from Kucha City. They calmly packed up their belongings, hitched them to the cart, and finally took them with them.
After picking up the children and the old man, he locked the door and left Kucha City, heading to the Baduan River Basin in the west, which also belonged to the Kucha Kingdom. Almost all the Kucha people had land there.
At this time, 20,000 Tibetan and Tuyuhun coalition troops had arrived at Puchanghai, and then turned to march northwest along the Chihe River. Their goal was very clear, which was Kucha City.
This time the Tibetan coalition sent 20,000 troops, but there were only 3,000 Tibetan soldiers. Although the main force of this army was the Tuyuhun people, the main general commanded was a Tibetan general. This is also in line with the practice. The Tuyuhun people have always been a servant army, and only
They have the power to send troops, but they don't have the right to command.
Although Tubo was at its most powerful peak in history, its territory stretched from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the west to Anxi, crossed the Congling Mountains, defeated the Uighur army, occupied most of Tocharo, and continued to compete with the Uighurs for the Hezhong area, making it
Become a big country with a territory of thousands of miles.
But Tubo's weakness was also fully reflected at this time. Its population was too small to support such a huge territory. In order to recruit soldiers, all men over fourteen were conscripted into the army, leaving only the old, weak, women and children in the hinterland of Tubo.
It also seriously affected the development of Tibetan internal productivity.
At noon that day, the Tibetan allied forces arrived at Puchanghai. General Xiang Lungui took a day off and resumed their march early tomorrow morning. The Tibetan allied forces carried hundreds of carts, mainly carrying food and siege ladders.
At this time, a goshawk circled in the sky, chirped several times and then flew north.
Thirty miles north of the Tibetan army camp, three hundred Tang troops led by Guo Song were hiding in a Populus euphratica forest. They circled twice in the sky and slowly landed on Guo Song's shoulders.
"Chirp chirp -" it barked twice.
Guo Song stroked the eagle and turned to Li Jida: "It has discovered the situation. There is an enemy situation just south of us. It should be the main force of the enemy."
Li Ji was surprised and said: "Can Mengzi still detect the enemy's situation?"
Guo Song smiled slightly and said: "I have always told people that the eagle is a spiritual animal. It actually knows what you want. The key depends on how you communicate with it. After getting along for a long time, there will naturally be a tacit understanding. It tells you
I, there are many people like us in front of me."
"Did it say how many people there were?"
Guo Song laughed loudly, "If you knew how many people there were, it would be the Condor."
Mengzi glared at Li Ji with dissatisfaction, flew up into the sky, and flew away to the west...
At night, 20,000 Tibetan troops were wrapped in blankets on the grassland by the lake. They did not set up tents, but formed a large circle with their luggage and supplies in the middle.
Years of fighting have enabled him and the others to accumulate a lot of experience in marching and fighting. For example, they knew that the Tang army was good at sneak attacks on logistical supplies, so they placed the supplies among the soldiers. Another example was that the Tang army in Putao City attacked the main camp at night and burned the company camp. Almost three thousand people
The entire army was destroyed, so now the Tibetan army dare not set up tents for fear of being burned by the Tang army again.
Even if the Tibetan allied forces sleep at night, two thousand cavalry patrols will be deployed outside. Once the enemy comes to kill, an alarm will be issued immediately.
At the third watch, Li Ji led dozens of cavalrymen to the outer perimeter several miles away. They were immediately spotted by the patrol, and the alarm sounded loudly. Li Ji then led his men to leave quickly, while the sleeping Tibetan allied forces were awakened one after another and quickly picked up their weapons.
Weapons are prepared for battle, sleepiness is driven away without a trace.
The leader of the coalition forces, Xiang Lungui, galloped over on horseback. When he heard that he had only found 20 or 30 Tang troops, he was so angry that he yelled, "You guys, if enemy scouts come to harass you more than a dozen times a night, do you still want to do this?"
The army is sleeping?"
More than a dozen Tuyuhun patrol guards were trembling with fear, lowering their heads and not daring to speak.
Deputy General Murong Bianlin was the leader of the Tuyuhun Army. He waved his hand to let the patrol go down, and said to the general: "Speaking of the patrol method, there is nothing wrong. They can't judge how many people are coming from the other side? What if most of the opponent's people are hidden?
Behind the scenes, if they didn’t call the police, wouldn’t they have missed a big deal?”
Xiang Lungui said coldly: "Does the soldier want to sleep at night?"
"The humble position means that we can simply march at night and rest during the day. On the one hand, it is warmer during the day and we will not freeze when we sleep. Secondly, the sight of the patrol post during the day is good and the patrol post can see far away. Then tonight's misjudgment incident will not happen.
.”
Xiang Lungui pondered for a moment and said, "What you said makes sense. I've just decided to set off tomorrow evening and have another day's rest during the day."
.......
The Tibetan allied forces changed their marching strategy, which was indeed very effective. The Tang army had almost no chance to attack.
General Guo Song convened the generals for discussion. He said to everyone: "Now the Tibetan coalition forces will rest during the day and march at night. Do you have any good suggestions?"
Liang Wu asked: "If we are marching at night, will it be an opportunity for us to attack the opponent's baggage?"
Li Ji snorted softly, "The opponent is very experienced. Both sides of the baggage train are heavily protected, and there are three thousand cavalry on both sides. Once we attack the baggage train with bows and arrows, the cavalry on both ends will immediately launch an encirclement. We are likely to
They will be surrounded by six thousand cavalry, and at this time, the baggage train will become a trap."
Guo Song nodded, "Captain Li speaks from experience. Although we succeeded in taking risks before, it was because the enemy did not expect us to appear. Their negligence gave us a chance. Now they have learned their lesson, Commander Li."
After testing it several times, we found that they are extremely vigilant. In this case, there is no need to take risks. We still have to wait patiently for the opportunity."
"So what should we do next?"
Guo Song smiled slightly and said: "Do you know why the Tubo and Tuguhun people almost always return without success every time they attack Longyou?"
Guo Chongqing smiled and said: "I would like to hear the details!"
"It is because the Tibetan people cannot keep up with their logistical supplies. To defeat this Tibetan coalition, we still have to make a fuss about supplies."
Guo Song saw that everyone was a little confused, so he continued: "The Tubo people brought a total of six to seven hundred carts, half of which were siege ladders, and the other half were grain, but they did not see cattle or sheep. Do you know that there are 20,000 troops?
How much grain is needed for a day? At least two hundred stones of grain are needed for a day, plus two thousand sheep.
However, they could only transport food for ten days at most in their carts. The meat was probably provided by the Tibetans in Kucha. But I had learned before that the Tibetans had about 100,000 sheep in Kucha. I heard that the Tibetans in Kucha had about 100,000 sheep.
The Tibetan herdsmen are generally only willing to give out 20,000 sheep as military rations. It is possible that they have moved away 80,000 sheep, leaving only 20,000 sheep and no cattle. This is the Tubo herdsmen's self-protection, and they are not willing to own their property.
All were requisitioned by the army."
Guo Chongqing understood what Guo Song meant and nodded, "In other words, the Tibetan coalition only has ten days to attack the city?"
Guo Song smiled faintly and said: "Actually, they still have a return journey. The return journey will take at least half a month. How will they provide food for the return journey?"
Everyone immediately understood that Chang Shi's goal was the Tuyuhun herdsmen along the Qiemo River and Puchanghai to cut off the Tibetan coalition's return supplies. If the Tibetan coalition got the news, they would have to withdraw early.
I have to say that this is a relatively clever plan, a typical attempt to draw fire from under the cauldron.
The three hundred Tang Army cavalry no longer followed the enemy's main force, but turned around and headed towards Puchanghai.
Large areas of land along the Puchang Sea, along the Qiemo River, and along the Sabize coast south of Qiemo Wucheng are the territory of the Tyuhun people, where thousands of herder families and hundreds of thousands of sheep live.
Most of the young and strong men have joined the army, leaving only a handful of young and strong men and thousands of old, weak, women and children.
That morning, a powerful Tang Army cavalry appeared, set fire to the tents, killed the young and strong men who resisted, beheaded the sheep, and vigorously drove away the Tuyuhun herdsmen. It started from the Puchang Sea and soon spread to the Qiemo River coast.
The Tuyuhun herdsmen fled their homes in panic. They drove their sheep, old and young, and were forced to leave Anxi and retreat along the foothills of the Kunlun Mountains toward the plateau.
This round of expelling the Tuyuhun herdsmen lasted for ten days, thousands of tents were burned, and nearly a hundred young and strong men were killed by the Tang army in the conflict. All women, children, the elderly, and their flocks were expelled from Anxi.