Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5130 The situation suddenly changes

There were thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, and the wind and snow were heavy. Ashina Helu went westward from Shule into the mountains, and went westward along the Alai Mountains. When he walked out of the mountains, he looked back and found that there were only three thousand soldiers still following him. The rest had died of hunger and cold on the Pamir Mountains.

Looking forward, the Tianshan Mountains and the Alai Mountains block the cold winds and cold currents. The melted snow on the mountaintops forms streams that converge from high to low to form the Yaosha River, which meanders and flows down. The valleys on both sides of the river are nourished by the river water to form large oases, and many tribes are scattered on both sides of the river.

Ashina Helu took a deep breath, cheered himself up, and led his troops to plunder several tribes and seize food and horses. Finally, after a few days, he made up for the losses of the past few months.

However, after leading his army downstream and plundering the city of Kujand again at the mouth of the valley, he did not follow the Silk Road south, but went directly north along the Yaosha River.

It was not until early May, after several rains, that the Yaosha River finally reached Kesan City on the north side of the river bank, with its water level rising sharply.

……

Half a month ago, Yazid led an army of 100,000 to the city of Kesan and immediately set up camp there. He did not immediately march to the city of Suiye, but instead held on to the place, waiting for reinforcements from various tribes that would arrive under the Caliph's decree.

In fact, even though the last battle in the Western Regions was a great victory, not only thwarting the Arabs' eastward advance, but also expanding the buffer zone between the two countries, the Tang army did not go too far beyond the city of Suiye.

The Tang army believed that the Anxi army had limited manpower and would find it difficult to hold on even if they occupied more land. However, the Arabs were extremely greedy for land. Seeing that the Tang army had stopped at the line of Suiye City, the Arab army, which had been beaten back by a wolf, gradually advanced forward after the battle.

As a result, large areas once again came under the rule of the Arabs, and many tribes had to obey the orders of the Caliph.

This time, Muawiyah not only dispatched his most elite 100,000 troops, but also issued orders and summoned tribes such as Kangguo, Shiguo, Bana Khan, Tocharian, Anguo, Huxun, Khwarezm, and even the westward-migrating Turkic tribes of the Cumans and Khazars in the north, all of whom sent troops to Suiye City to participate in this war of expansion into the Western Regions.

The total number is no less than 200,000.

The gathering place is the dispersed city.

However, when winter turned to spring, heavy rains fell, rivers swollen and roads muddy, causing the reinforcements of various tribes to arrive late. Now, in May, the troops assembled here are only 50,000, plus Yazid's own troops, there are barely 150,000.

With so many troops, they would never dare to attack Suiye City, but with 150,000 people gathered here, the food and fodder consumed every day would be an astronomical amount. How could the Arab Empire, which has always only known how to plunder and not engage in production, have so many supplies?

Every day of delay, the supplies would be reduced, and the blisters on Yezid's mouth would increase...

But inside the city, Yezide was restless and anxious, and kept sending scouts to urge the troops to assemble, hoping that they could complete the assembly and launch the offensive as soon as possible.

In the Governor's Mansion in the city, Amir looked at Yazid, who was furious because Tokharistan had delayed the assembly time again, and advised: "Instead of waiting like this and losing morale day by day, it is better to take the initiative to attack. Even if we cannot capture Suiye City, we must put some pressure on the Tang army. Otherwise, it will be difficult to continue!"

He always advocated "speed is the essence of war" and wanted to attack Suiye City with lightning speed, but Ye Qide was afraid of the combat effectiveness of the Tang army. He had to wait until all the troops were assembled, and then he would gather all his strength to launch a powerful attack and achieve success in one battle.

But the situation on the battlefield is ever-changing. We must know how to adjust our strategy decisively according to the circumstances. How can we stick to the old ways and remain unchanged?
But Yazid was the commander-in-chief, and he dared not disobey military orders.

Ye Qide calmed down his anger, but still disagreed with the strategy of dividing the troops to attack Shaye City: "General, you don't know that the Tang army is brave and good at fighting, and their firearms are extremely powerful. We can only fight if we gather all our strengths. Once we divide our troops, we will use our weaknesses to attack the enemy's strengths, and we will definitely lose."

Amir shook his head and sighed, saying no more, but he couldn't help but complain in his heart: The Caliph is such a hero, how could he give birth to such a cowardly, ignorant fool?

Aofu strode in from outside, his face solemn. "General, the caravan from the Western Regions brought back some bad news. Two months ago, there was a civil strife in the Turkic people. Ashina Buzhen and Ashina Mishe joined forces to capture the city of Mohe. Ashina Helu led thousands of troops to flee in a hurry, but encountered an ambush on the way. They could only head south and have no trace of their whereabouts."

Yezid was shocked at first, and then angrily said: "These two bastards ruined my plan! If Ashina Helu hadn't raised an army to contain us, we would have faced the enemy head-on and the pressure would have increased greatly!"

Amir also realized that something was wrong: "Could it be that the Tang army commander discovered that we had secretly connected with Ashina Helu and made an alliance with each other?"

If so, has Lu Dongzan also been exposed?
The reason why the Caliph dared to gather such a strong force to attack the Western Regions again this time was mainly because of the alliance with Lu Dongzan and Ashina Helu. After the war broke out, Ashina Helu quickly captured Tingzhou and Xizhou, causing chaos in the heart of the Western Regions. Lu Dongzan took the opportunity to send troops to capture Hexi and cut off the food supply route of the Tang army. In addition, Yazid launched a frontal attack. Such a three-pronged approach would inevitably ensure victory in this battle.

However, if there was no internal chaos in the Western Regions and the Tang army's food supply was not cut off, even if they could eventually capture Suiye City, they would suffer heavy losses and would have little energy to continue advancing into the Western Regions, let alone approach Yumen Pass and threaten the Tang homeland.

But the army has already assembled here, and how can the strategy that has been deployed at the cost of countless resources end in vain?

As the Tang Dynasty proverb goes, “The arrow is on the string and must be shot!”
Ye Qide also realized this problem. After thinking about it, he shook his head and said, "Lu Dongzan writes a letter every month, reporting in detail on the deployment of the Tang army in the Western Regions and the transportation of food and fodder. I think there should be no problem."

He became more and more irritated and timid. He didn't care about "the arrow is on the string and must be shot". If Lu Dongzan and Ashina Helu were both exposed, he would rather bear the stigma of "fear of war" and immediately lead his troops back to Damascus to await the punishment of the Caliph.

These 100,000 elite soldiers are the foundation of the Caliph's rule. If they are destroyed at the foot of Suiye, the Caliph will probably face a rebellion from the entire Arab Empire...

Aofu came to the table and unfolded a map, carefully observing the terrain of the Western Region, and then pointed at the map: "Ashina Helu fled all the way south from Mohe City. In fact, there was no way to go. The only way to survive was to cross the Pamir Mountains, go west from the Pearl River Valley, and then follow the river to this place."

Yaoshashui originates from the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain, and its source is called "Zhenzhu River"...

Ye Qide sighed and said, "Even if they come, what can we do?"

Ashina Helu's role was to disrupt the Western Regions and make the Anxi army vulnerable to attacks from both sides. Now that they have lost the city of Mohe, what is the point of escaping with only a few thousand soldiers?

Aofu said: "That's not necessarily true. Ashina Helu knows the Western Regions well. He not only knows the strength of the Tang army, but he is also the leader of the Turks and has a status like Khan. If he raises his arm and calls for help, all the remaining Turks in the Western Regions will be at your service."

Yezid thought it made sense: "Then send someone to search upstream along the Yaosha River to see if Ashina Helu really crossed the Pamir Mountains."

Aofu received the order and was about to go out to pass on the message when he saw Maslama walking in quickly and shouting, "General, Ashina Helu is here!"

Yezid: “…”

If we say Ashina Helu is coming, then Ashina Helu will come?
What a coincidence!

"Where are people?"

"Just outside the city!"

"Send him into the city to see me immediately!"

Maslama hesitated for a moment and said, "The Lord of Kujand is also outside the city with Helu."

"Kuzhan City Lord?"

"Helu crossed the Pamir Mountains and entered the Pearl River Valley. As he had no food or fodder and was short of weapons, he plundered the city of Kujand."

"..."

Yezid was overwhelmed.

The Pearl River Valley has always been the territory of the Bana Khanate. Later, due to the invasion of the Turks, it was split into two parts, the eastern part with its capital in Khujand and the western part with its capital in Khosan. The eastern part was pro-Turkic and the western part was pro-Arab. When the Turkic Khanate was destroyed, the Arabs took the opportunity to send troops to conquer the entire Bana Khanate.

Now that Helu looted the city of Khujand, there must have been a reason for replenishing food, fodder and military equipment, but who could believe that he did not do so to retaliate against Khujand for its betrayal of the Turks?
Auf said, "General, the overall situation is more important. Although the city of Kesan under our feet is also part of the Khanate of Battariq, it is an enemy of Khujand. They have temporarily given up the dispute due to the pressure from the Arabs, and they are not really submitting to us. Although Helu is a defeated general, he is still a "Turkic leader" and has extraordinary prestige among the Turkic tribes. Moreover, he knows the Western Regions very well, and can help us much more than Khujand."

Yazid nodded and said to Maslama, "Let Helu enter the city, and tell the Lord of Khujand that the losses of Khujand will be remembered for the time being. When we win this battle, I will double the compensation."

Masrama took the order and left.

Half an hour later, Ashina Helu, looking dusty and haggard, came to meet him.

As soon as they met, he knelt on one knee, his eyes filled with tears and his voice choked: "Marshal, please avenge me!"

Although Yezid looked down on Helu, who looked like a lost dog, he still showed respect to the wise and humble. He stood up from his seat, took two steps forward to help Helu up, looked him up and down, and sighed, "How did you get to this point?"

Helu was touched and angry at the same time: "Mishe and Buzhen, those two beasts, joined hands to capture Mohe City, kidnapped my wife and children and held them hostage, and the Anxi Protectorate turned a blind eye. This is too much!"

Ye Qide patted his shoulder to comfort him, and personally helped him to the table. Then they sat down and asked curiously, "What is the current situation in the Western Region? Have you communicated with Lu Dongzan? Is Fushi City safe?"

Unexpectedly, Ashina Helu said something shocking: "Lu Dongzan? That old villain has already surrendered to Fang Jun. There is no way Fushi City will send troops to cut off the grain route to Hexi!"

The whole place was shocked.