At the same time, 20,000 Tibetan allied troops arrived at Kucha City and began to attack Kucha City.
Qiuci City was rebuilt by the Tang army in the third year of Tianbao. It was all cut and repaired from Tianshan boulders. The city was tall and solid. Although there was no moat, the strong walls and gates made it very difficult for the enemy to attack.
More importantly, for more than 20 years, the Tang Army in Anxi had defeated countless attacks by the Tibetan army, accumulated rich experience, and had enough confidence, strong fighting spirit, and high morale. The large amount of loot supplies brought by Guo Song also greatly
The soldiers' food was improved and their physical strength was significantly restored.
'Boom! Boom! Boom!'
At dawn, five thousand Tuyuhun troops launched their first attack. With dust flying and drums rumbling, five thousand soldiers carrying more than twenty siege ladders rushed towards the southern city like a tide.
On the top of the city, thousands of Tang troops were waiting in full formation. Guo Xin shouted sternly, "Arrows and crossbowmen are ready!"
Three thousand crossbowmen were half-kneeling on the ground, their crossbows raised high against the ground, pointing at the sky at a 45-degree angle. At this time, the five thousand enemy troops were getting closer and closer, and they were already within a hundred paces.
"emission!"
Guo Xin gave an order, and three thousand crossbow bolts rose into the sky like a dark cloud, moved instantly, and shot at the dense crowd below the city. Tuyuhun soldiers fell to the ground after being struck by arrows, and hundreds of people were killed or injured in one round of crossbow bolts.
However, the bows and crossbows could not stop the enemy's attack. The surging enemy troops rushed to the city wall, and siege ladders hooked up to the top of the city. Thousands of Tuyuhun soldiers climbed to the top of the city like ants, and the Tang army firmly controlled it.
At the top of the city, the two armies fought fiercely.
Arrows rained down from above and below the city. The Tang army shot at the enemy troops on the ladders from the side, while the Tuyuhun soldiers fired their bows at the top of the city from below. Tuyuhun soldiers were constantly hit by arrows and screamed as they rolled down the siege ladder. The soldiers of the Tang army
They were also constantly hit by arrows, and the fierce battle between the two sides gradually became fierce.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The drums of the Tibetan coalition sounded again, and the Tubo commander threw another 5,000 Tuyuhun troops to attack the city from the east wall, led by Tuyuhun commander Murong Bianlin himself.
The 1,500 reserve Tang troops in the city quickly joined the battle on the east wall, and Guo Xin transferred 1,000 men from the south city to support the east wall.
If the Tubo commander committed another 5,000 troops to attack the West City Wall at this time, the Tang Army would be in danger. However, Xiang Lugui did not issue an order to attack the West City Wall. It was not because he did not expect it, but because they were restricted by the siege weapons they carried.
Half of the hundred siege ladders have been invested, and he cannot bet all his capital on today's tentative attack.
The offensive and defensive battle on the east city wall quickly became fierce. There was no moat to block it, and more importantly, the Tang army did not have heavy defensive weapons. The enemy troops rushed directly to the city and began a crazy attack. One after another, the siege ladders were overturned and they clung to the wall.
The Tuyuhun soldiers on the ladder jumped to survive.
The siege lasted for two hours, and the Tuyuhun army's casualties gradually became heavy. The Tang army also suffered a lot of casualties, but the city was never captured. The Tuyuhun soldiers attacked the city several times, but were completely wiped out by the Tang army.
Murong Bianlin, the general of Tuyuhun, finally discovered that this was a trap. The Tang army deliberately let dozens of people attack the city, and then cut off their retreat. The soldiers lying in ambush quickly surrounded the dozens of soldiers who attacked the city, and killed them all.
Annihilate.
This trap has happened dozens of times, and thousands of people have been killed. In the final analysis, it was because they invested too little in the siege ladder, which gave the Tang army the opportunity to take advantage of this shortcoming.
At this moment, the withdrawal bell rang, 'Dang! Dang! Dang!'
The Tuyuhun soldiers retreated like a tide. They only took away ten siege ladders with them when they retreated, and the loss of the siege ladders reached as many as forty.
On the first day of the exploratory attack, the Tuyuhun army suffered heavy losses of nearly 4,000 people, and the Tang army also suffered nearly 500 casualties. Although the enemy suffered heavy losses, the situation was not favorable to the Tang army, after all, their numbers were too small.
On the top of the city, several logistics teams composed of women were busy bandaging the wounded, bringing tea and water to the soldiers, and hot meals and dishes. Some soldiers were burying the bodies and sorting out weapons and supplies.
Guo Xin inspected the city, and a general whispered to him: "It seems that the opponent is not fully prepared, and there are not many siege ladders."
Guo Xin also discovered this problem. He nodded and said: "All the resources of Tubo have been sent to the west of Congling, and the craftsmen have almost been sent away. These siege ladders have been worked hard in the past two months, so
They did not attack the city on a large scale today, but they were limited by the lack of siege ladders."
At this time, the cry of an eagle came from the sky. Guo Xin looked up and saw that it was Guo Song's Mengzi. Mengzi folded its wings and landed in front of Guo Xin. He stood on a battlement reluctantly and looked at Guo Song coldly.
Xin, it is obvious that he is deeply dissatisfied with the fact that he was temporarily arrested as a young man.
Guo Xin saw a thin tube tied to the eagle's leg, and quickly stepped forward to take off the tube. As soon as he took off the tube, the fierce bird spread its wings and flew away, ignoring Guo Xin. It was no longer feasible for Guo Xin to ask it to reply.
It's possible.
Guo Xin slowly unfolded the Eagle Letter, which was a handwritten letter written by Guo Song. The letter proposed a plan to destroy the enemy's grain and grass logistics. At the same time, Guo Song had led his army to expel the Tuyuhun herdsmen in Puchanghai and Qiemo River.
Guo Xin was silent for a while. He knew Guo Song's intentions very well, but Guo Song obviously did not understand the situation in Anxi. The Tibetan army attacked Kucha City and never withdrew due to lack of food. The Tubo army occupied a large number of pastures in Anxi.
, these pastures must unconditionally supply sheep to the army, including the pastures in Kucha.
Guo Song may have thought that the Tibetan herdsmen would secretly hide their sheep. In fact, there were Tibetan officials stationed in each ranch, and the number of cattle and sheep was recorded. Anyone who dared to hide cattle and sheep would be executed. Guo Song underestimated the Tibetan people's strictness.
management system.
The reason why the Tubo people brought a small amount of food to attack Qiuci was because they had enough cattle and sheep to use as military food. If the military food was insufficient, they could have sent an army to plunder the city of Yanji three hundred miles away, so the food was never
The problem, on the contrary, was that the real weakness of the Tibetans was their lack of siege weapons.
However, driving away the Tuyuhun herdsmen from Puchanghai and Qiemo River was a wise decision. It could shake the morale of the Tuyuhun soldiers. If the Tubo commander could not handle this matter well, it would seriously affect the combat effectiveness of the Tuyuhun soldiers.
Guo Xin has been dealing with the Tubo people and the Tuyuhun people for many years. He is very aware of the subtle contradictions between the Tubo people and the Tuyuhun people. The Tubo army regards the Tuyuhun people as slaves and never considers their life and death. They occupy so many pastures in Anxi and only give them symbolic support.
The Tuyuhun people have little land, and the Tuyuhun people have been dissatisfied with Tubo for a long time.
"Commander, the eagle flew away just now, and we haven't sent the news to Guo Changshi yet!"
"No need to tell him, he knows what to do!"
Guo Song did not easily attack the Tubo army. Based on this alone, Guo Xin was able to rest assured about Guo Song's actions in the periphery.
........
After Guo Song led the army to expel the Tuyuhun herdsmen, he led the army back to Kucha. The army was stationed in a small military fort fifty miles away. This was a peripheral military fort built by the Anxi Army, mainly to prevent harassment by small groups of Tibetan troops.
, but when the Tibetan army attacks, the garrison in the military fort will also withdraw to Kucha City.
At night, Li Ji led a group of soldiers to leave the military fort and went to Kucha City and the Tubo Ranch to inquire about news.
More than a dozen cavalrymen rode two horses and galloped like lightning in the dark night. The night wind blew in their ears. The cavalrymen kept changing horses. They arrived at the Tubo pasture at the foot of Tianshan Mountain at dawn.
In fact, Guo Song was not sure whether the sheep in the Qiuci Tubo pasture would be transferred. His assumption was based on the fact that the Tibetan herdsmen only left a small number of sheep. If this basis was overturned, he would judge that the Tibetan herds would be transferred.
The conclusion that the army is short of food makes no sense.
It was still dark at this time, and they immediately arrived on the rolling grassland at the foot of the mountain. The soldier leading the way was Xie Tianshan. He was temporarily seconded to the Eagle Attack Army by Li Ji because he knew Tubo language. Xie Tianshan was very familiar with the surrounding environment, even in
Marching at night, he will not lose his way.
"Ahead is the Tubo pasture, and that path is the road from the pasture to Kucha City!"
As soon as Xie Tianshan finished speaking, a burst of rapid horse hooves was faintly heard, breaking the tranquility of the morning. Only a few hundred steps away, a man wearing Tubo costumes was riding towards here.
Li Ji immediately made a decision and said to several soldiers: "Arrest this person!"
Several soldiers of the Tang Army rushed away. They quickly found a place with thick bushes and pulled up two tripping ropes.
The man did not find the Tang army, so he galloped towards the horse. The horse was caught by the rope, and fell to the ground with a long neigh. The man immediately fell two feet away. When he was about to get up, he was imprisoned by two Tang army soldiers.