Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5139 Suspicious tactics
The Tianshan Mountains stretch from east to west and divide the north and south. They are majestic and continuous. They extend westward to the north of Rehe, which the locals call "Alatau". Further west, there is a mountainous area with countless springs gurgling down. The Han people who passed through this area along the Silk Road called it "Thousand Springs Mountain".

Along the northern foot of the "Alatau Mountains", people have settled here since ancient times because of the abundant water and rivers and lakes. It can be regarded as a branch of the Silk Road. From east to west, there are towns such as Suiye, Julan, Baishui, and Henglus, which are considered to be the prosperous places in the Transoxiana region.

Previously, the Tang Dynasty and Tubo had a decisive battle here, and the people's livelihood and economy were destroyed. They have not yet recovered. Now the two countries are facing another war. The trade routes have been cut off, and people of all ethnic groups nearby have fled for refuge, waiting for the two countries to decide the outcome so that they can reopen the trade routes or return to their homes.

……

The once prosperous Hengrus is now only a pile of ruins. The damage from the war has not yet been restored. Teams of Tang troops are constantly retreating into the city. The soldiers gather food, fodder and baggage in one place, taking away what they can and burning what they cannot, to ensure that an empty city is left for the enemy. Not only can the enemy not get supplies, but they have to consume supplies to repair them.

Wang Xiaojie, the general of the Anxi Army who was in charge of guarding this place, sat in the government office in the city wearing full armor, ignoring the busy soldiers outside and drinking tea leisurely.

When Fang Jun reorganized the Left and Right Tunwei and planned to build the Left and Right Jinwu Guards, Wang Xiaojie, who was a captain, took the initiative to request to come to the Anxi Army. "If I want to be an official, I should be the Prefect of Jinwu, and if I want to marry, I should marry Yin Lihua." Wang Xiaojie wholeheartedly agreed with the second half of the sentence, but disagreed with the first half.

A real man should guard the border, protect his home and country, make achievements with passion, and give his wife and children honors. But what's the point of wearing a helmet and armor and holding the Jinwu guard in the imperial city all day long and acting arrogantly?

Sure enough, due to his origin in Youtunwei, he was immediately valued by Xue Rengui after arriving at the Anxi Army. He led two regiments of troops to guard Hengrus, an important node on the Silk Road, and faced the army of the Arab Empire.

This is the embodiment of the value of life!
"General, all the brothers outside the city have been withdrawn, and no one has been left out after the roll call."

A lieutenant ran in from outside and reported to his young superior.

Wang Xiaojie said "hmm", put down his teacup, and asked, "Where is the enemy army now?"

"One hundred and thirty miles west of the city, their vanguard will arrive on light cavalry and fast horses in a flash."

Wang Xiaojie remained calm: "There is still time. Has the gunpowder been properly buried? Is the fuse hidden? Is the hiding place of the soldiers safe?"

"General, rest assured, everything is going according to plan, and there will be no mistakes. As for the hiding place of the soldiers... hehe, we can hollow out the well wall in the well, and each place is large enough to accommodate two people. We can prepare food and clean water on the spot. It won't be a problem to hide for ten days or half a month."

The gunpowder was pre-buried, but someone was needed to detonate it, so soldiers had to stay in the city to perform this task...

Wang Xiaojie nodded, stood up, took the sword beside him and hung it around his waist, then walked out with big strides.

There were no civilians or merchants in the entire Hengluo City anymore. There were only the Anxi Army soldiers who continued to gather here, and piles of burning supplies outside the gate of the government office.

Dozens of horse-drawn carriages had already been loaded with supplies that could be transported and were ready to go.

Wang Xiaojie came to a group of soldiers on the left, looked at their faces one by one, and finally said in a deep voice: "Comrades, do you know the danger of this mission?"

"Know!"

More than ten people responded in unison.

Wang Xiaojie was silent for a moment, and then said, "Although the plan is detailed, accidents are inevitable. Once discovered by the enemy, they will die without a burial place. If anyone is timid, you can ask for it now. I will allow him to withdraw with the team and will not pursue him. But if you stay, you must complete the mission even if you die. Whoever dares to ruin the Marshal's plan is a traitor to the Anxi Army and a sinner of the Tang Dynasty. I will cut off his head with my own hands!"

"Swear to the death to complete the mission!"

"Okay! Check the necessary supplies. If nothing is missing, go to the hiding place immediately."

"Here!"

More than ten people picked up the huge backpack beside them and carefully checked the food, fire starters and other items. After confirming that they were correct, they knelt on one knee and saluted, then quickly left and rushed to their respective hiding places.

In order to ensure that the gunpowder could be successfully detonated, a total of six detonation points were set up. It took five to six hundred people five days just to lay the fuses...

Wang Xiaojie waved his hand: "Everyone retreat!"

"Here!"

Hundreds of soldiers responded in unison, and some rode on horseback, some walked, and some drove carriages. They marched out of the east gate of Hengluo and slowly headed towards Baishui City.

As the Anxi army withdrew from Hengluo, this huge city was deserted and fell into desolation...

*****
Amir rode on his horse, constantly urging his troops to speed up. There were only a few hundred Tang troops in the city of Hengrus, and he had to go there as soon as possible to capture the city in one battle to prevent the Tang army from destroying supplies after they knew they were defeated. As an important city on the East-West Silk Road, Hengrus was a place where merchants stayed and must have abundant supplies, which was a great supplement for the Arab army, which was extremely short of food and fodder.

Maybe even make a small fortune...

However, when they were fifty miles away from Hengluo, the scouts ahead sent back news that the Tang army guarding Hengluo had all fled. Before leaving, they burned down several warehouses. The flames shot up into the sky and the smoke rose into the air. It was estimated that there was nothing left.

Amir was so angry that he started cursing. Wasn't it said that the Anxi army was brave and good at fighting and would never retreat?
I haven't even arrived yet and haven't even fired an arrow, so why are they running away?
Amir was certainly not an incompetent person as he was able to lead his troops to conquer most of Persia. His strategy seemed radical but was actually not reckless. The reason why he dared to take the initiative to attack and give the Tang army a head-on blow without waiting for the army to assemble was because he was confident in the strength of his own troops.

Now that the Tang army had fled without a fight, leaving him with an empty city, he was of course full of doubts.

That’s the city of Henglus, a node on the Silk Road and an important town in the Transoxiana region!

"The entire army will camp outside the city for the time being. The vanguard will enter the city and search it thoroughly inside and out. Don't be negligent or slack!"

The order was issued, and the 30,000-strong army slowed down and rested outside the city of Hengrus. More than 2,000 vanguards rushed in through the wide-open city gates and quickly searched the city, but did not find anything unusual. Only then did Amir lead his troops into the city of Hengrus.

When they arrived in the city, the troops scattered in a hurry. Those who were quick rushed to the houses to live in, while those who were slow could only set up tents in the open areas in the city. The few food and fodder were also transported into the city and strictly guarded. Although the food and fodder were not much, it was enough to support them until the attack on Suiye City. By then, regardless of victory or defeat, they would have to return to Kesan City to regroup and reorganize.

Amir rode his horse and circled the city surrounded by his guards, gradually feeling relieved.

The Tang army retreated in a hurry. Although they implemented the strategy of "fortifying the city and clearing the fields", the entire city was empty and nothing was left behind. However, a lot of silk and porcelain were found among the baggage burned by the Tang army before leaving. These were extremely valuable goods. This shows that it was definitely not arranged in advance, otherwise there would have been enough time to transport these things away.

Moreover, although the city of Hengluo was severely damaged in the previous war, the city walls were largely preserved. With a little repair, it is still a fortress that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. If the Tang people knew that they could not win and were afraid of fighting, how could they give up such a big city?
That doesn't make sense.

Amir speculated that the Tang army's strategy should be to withdraw its forces and rely on powerful firearms to defend the city of Suiye.

If this is the case, our strategy will become more proactive.

A soldier came to report that the office in the city had been cleaned and Amir was invited to move in.

Amir thought for a moment and refused, and set up his tent on the roadside outside the office gate, so that if there was an emergency, he could quickly run along the road to the city gates.

Caution is the boat……

That night, the sound of war drums woke Amir from his sleep. He jumped up, grabbed his scimitar and ran out of the tent. Seeing the troops entering the city in a panic, noisy and disorderly manner, he was immediately furious: "What happened?"

The deputy general ran over and said quickly, "The scouts spotted a large group of Tang cavalry approaching."

Amir ordered: "The supervision team will patrol the whole city. If anyone disobeys military discipline and disrupts the morale of the army, they will be killed without mercy!"

"Yes!"

"The rest of you follow me up to the city gate and observe the enemy situation!"

"Yes!"

Dozens of people rode their horses towards the east gate and climbed up the ruined city wall. They saw a bright light in the east under the night sky. It was obvious that the enemy cavalry were rushing towards them with torches.

Ami immediately felt relieved and ordered his men: "Don't make a fuss. Although the enemy is coming with great force, they are holding torches, which shows that they are worried about unnecessary casualties during the march in the dark. They are just bluffing and will not attack the city at night!"

Having said that, they did not dare to let their guard down. Not only did they continue to send out scouts to spy on the enemy's movements, they also left enough people on the city walls to look out, and they also sent orders to all troops to be on high alert and prepared for battle.

Fortunately, although there was a lot of panic overnight, nothing happened in the end. By dawn, the Tang army had slowly retreated.

The next day, the Arab army began to demolish houses on a large scale in the city, using all the building materials to temporarily repair the city walls and gates. Although the city of Hengluo was in ruins, its strategic location was too important and it could be used as a front-line command post for the war against the Tang Dynasty.

After a tiring day, the soldiers ate the limited rations and fell asleep with hungry stomachs.

At midnight, there was another round of war drum sounds, waking everyone up from their sleep...

Amir forced himself to be strong. Although he suspected that the Tang army was really implementing the "strategy of tire out the enemy", he did not dare to take it lightly. What if he was careless for a moment and the Tang army's "strategy of tire out the enemy" turned into a real attack?

He also had a rough study of the Tang Dynasty's military tactics. "When the enemy is weak, make it strong; when the enemy is strong, make it weak." This is the essence of the Tang Dynasty's military tactics. We must be on guard against the strong and the false, the false and the real.