Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5159 Artillery Defects
In the dark night, Auf and Maslama were worried.

The Tang army seemed to be tireless and kept attacking without stopping from the afternoon until midnight. They advanced, fired, and retreated... over and over again. The Arab army could only fight passively. When they formed an array, the enemy fired long-range shots and retreated after one strike. Auf did not dare to pursue them, fearing that he would be tricked by the enemy.

The array of tens of thousands of people seemed to be tight and impenetrable, but the enemy's tactics peeled off layer by layer like skinning teeth. In the fierce fighting in the middle of the night, thousands of troops were lost.

The army was in panic and morale was low.

Maslama sighed, feeling frustrated. "Not only are the Tang army's firearms amazing, but they also use this kind of tactics. We don't have any chance of turning defeat into victory. If we are not careful, we may even be wiped out."

However, Auf looked normal, staring intently in the direction of Kesan City, silent and thoughtful.

Maslamachi asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Ao Fu said: "I wonder why the Tang army's artillery has not arrived yet?"

Now they were facing the "Parthian tactics" of the Tang army, and had to gather all the troops in one place to reduce casualties as much as possible. But this gave the enemy artillery a chance to exert its power, so Auf had already made up his mind that as soon as the Tang army artillery started firing, he would immediately lead the army to retreat southward, no longer caring about giving Yazid a chance to escape calmly.

But after fighting fiercely for half a night, although there were many casualties, they still couldn't wait for the Tang army's artillery bombardment...

Was it because the Tang army was merciful and could not bear to see the corpses and body parts of the Arab army scattered all over the ground?
How can it be!

The people of the Tang Dynasty always claimed to be a civilized and courteous country, but in fact they were extremely brutal. The abuse of foreign races was unprecedented in history, and the surrounding Hu people suffered greatly. Countless tribes that had multiplied for hundreds or even thousands of years were forced to leave their homes and migrate far away under the brutal rule of the Tang Dynasty. During the day, the Tang Dynasty even bombarded the city with extremely fierce artillery fire without any regard for the consequences. How many Arab soldiers were killed or burned to death?
They cursed the Arabs as a "barbaric land" and "barbarians" every day, but their style was even worse than that of the Arabs!

Maslama was stunned, thought for a moment, and said, "Perhaps... the Tang army's artillery still has flaws?"

Aof nodded. "I think so too. Perhaps their artillery can't fight for long, perhaps their shells are insufficient, or perhaps they are inconvenient to move... In short, although the Tang army's artillery is incredibly powerful and irresistible, it is not invincible."

Maslama was in high spirits and said excitedly: "If the Tang army does not use artillery tonight, we will know the outcome when we retreat tomorrow!"

The "Parthian Tactics" are indeed ingenious and have all the advantages, but they consume a lot of soldiers and horses. If there are more effective and powerful offensive means, how can they not be used?
Auf was also very happy: "Although we suffered heavy losses in this battle, we cannot shirk our responsibility, but if we can test the flaws of the Tang army's artillery, it will be worth it no matter how much it costs!"

If muskets and thunder bombs frightened the Arab army, then the oppression brought by artillery was enough to make everyone in the Arab Empire feel despair.

How could a flesh and blood body block the power of thunder and collapse of mountains and the earth?
As soon as the cannon sounded, the Arab army was defeated.

But if the artillery still has defects, it means that the Tang Dynasty's Anxi Army is not invincible!
As long as you adopt the right strategy, victory is possible.

……

They waited until dawn and found that the Tang army's artillery had not been used again.

Although the army lost four to five thousand soldiers overnight, Auf and Maslama had red eyes and were exhausted, but their spirits were very excited.

Artillery is indeed not invincible!

Maslama asked, "Should we start retreating now?"

Ao Fu looked around and saw the bodies of soldiers lying on the ground outside the formation. His excitement at learning that the Tang army's artillery still had defects was immediately curbed. He felt heartbroken: "Without food and fodder, and no medicine to treat, I don't know how many more soldiers will die on the way back to Kangguo!"

Maslama was silent, and sighed, "Who could have expected that the Tang army's artillery would evolve to such a level of power? It's not that I want to destroy my own prestige. Even if all the troops of the empire were mobilized here, even if the Caliph himself was in charge, the result would not be any different."

The shells landed and exploded, either shrapnel flying everywhere and body parts scattered all over the ground, or kerosene splashing and flames raging. There was no difference between 10,000 people and 100,000 people, and there was no difference between 100,000 people and 200,000 people. Any strategy or tactics was useless in the face of such destructive power.

They can only wait to be killed.

Aof knew that as the commander at the moment, he could not let his depressed mood affect the already low morale of the entire army. He lifted his spirits and ordered: "The entire army will take turns to eat, and when the sun rises, we will retreat southward along the Yaosha River!"

The three "rebels" had already left the battlefield and retreated northwards to rest in the middle of the night. At this moment, Tuozhe City was an empty city. Retreating along the Yaosha River could avoid being attacked from both sides. When they were close to Tuozhe City, they would leave the river and head south to Kangguo.

But when Auf saw the soldiers retreating to eat, he fell silent again.

However, the food supplies in Sancheng were burned by the rebels. Although troops were sent to rescue them later, not much was rescued, which was not enough to supply food for tens of thousands of people. Moreover, after a night of fierce fighting, there was no time to make a fire and cook. At this moment, the soldiers were gnawing on hard and dry naan. Without water, they could only raise their heads and stretch their necks to swallow it with difficulty.

However, what was even more cruel was that even for naan, the army only had enough supply for three or two days. The army would run out of food before they could even reach Kangguo.

Even if they reach Kangguo, there may not be enough food for the attacking army...

……

Under the city of Kesan, Xue Rengui was sitting next to a bonfire with an iron pot on the fire. A piece of horse meat was cooking in the pot. The cook grabbed a handful of star anise, pepper, cinnamon and other spices and threw them into the pot. The boiling water was bubbling and the aroma of meat was everywhere.

Gao Deyi, Helu and A Luohan all swallowed their saliva, each holding a clay bowl in their hands, staring at the meat pot eagerly.

The three men fought for a whole day and a half night, and each of them was injured. At this moment, they took off their armor, smeared medicine all over their bodies, had red eyes, disheveled hair, and looked extremely miserable.

But I was lucky enough to survive such a brutal battle...

Xue Rengui had not slept for a whole day and night, but his hair was neatly combed, his beard was clean, and he looked energetic and spirited.

"The enemy has started eating and appears to be planning to retreat."

Xue Rengui said this, then he took a wooden stick and reached into the pot to poke a piece of meat into A Luohan's bowl, and then poked another piece into Helu's bowl, and said with a smile: "In this battle, you two have made great contributions. I will list your contributions in the battle report later and send it to Chang'an at an emergency speed of 800 miles to claim credit for you two."

Helu and A Luohan nodded repeatedly but did not say anything. They held the bowl, opened their mouths wide and took a bite of the meat. It was so hot that they took a deep breath but could not bear to spit it out. They chewed a few times and swallowed it whole.

The long and intense battle had already exhausted his physical strength. At this moment, he was sleepy, tired, and exhausted. All he could see was the meat in the bowl. Any achievements would have to wait until he had a full stomach...

Xue Rengui poked another piece of meat and put it into Gao Deyi's bowl. He raised his hand and patted his shoulder, praising him: "The commander-in-chief has learned of your merits and will grant you the post of Sima, General Dingyuan, and Senior Cavalry Commandant!"

Helu and A Luohan were both Hu people, and their official positions and titles had to be approved by the Political Affairs Hall and drafted by His Majesty himself. Gao Deyi was a general of the Anxi Army, and his merits could be drafted by the Grand Protectorate and the Ministry of War. Fang Jun's influence in these two offices was enough to make the decision.

Gao Deyi was stunned at first, and said in panic: "This, this, this, is inappropriate?"

Getting promoted is certainly a good thing, but he remembered that the current Sima of the Grand Protectorate is Xue Rengui in front of him...

But he immediately came to his senses: "The general was also promoted?"

Xue Rengui smiled and said, "You brothers have fought bravely and bravely, and I have also benefited from it. After this battle, I will be the deputy governor. I am ashamed."

Gao Deyi said quickly: "If it weren't for the general's command and leading by example, how could we be promoted? Thank you for your kind words, and thank you for the promotion!"

The prerequisite for promotion is to have made outstanding achievements.

But making outstanding achievements does not necessarily lead to promotion.

Although the Tang army had strict discipline and rigorous inspections, things like "embezzlement of military merit" still happened from time to time. For example, in this battle, with Xue Rengui's identity, status, and power, as well as his relationship with Fang Jun and Pei Xingjian, he took all the credit for himself. Who in the army dared to disobey?

If this is the case, Gao Deyi will never be able to be promoted to Sima of the Grand Protectorate!

It should be noted that the Anxi Protectorate is ranked first among the Protectorates of the Tang Dynasty. It is in charge of the military and political affairs of the Western Regions and is truly "the world's number one frontier official." The Sima of the Protectorate is a fourth-rank official. Looking at the military sequence of the Tang Dynasty, there are no more than fifty officials higher than this one!

It must be that Xue Rengui reported his merits truthfully, and the Marshal had a love for talent, so he was promoted.

Xue Rengui smiled and waved his hands: "You paid for this with your own life, why belittle yourself? You followed the Marshal and fought bravely. What belongs to you, no one dares to take it away! Eat the meat."

"Here!"

Gao Deyi took a big bite of horse meat, his eyes were hot and his heart was pounding.

Helu saw it clearly from the side and knew that this deputy general of the Tang army, who had just fought alongside him, would have the power to influence the Turkic tribes in the future.

After swallowing the horse meat, he asked curiously, "The main force of the enemy has withdrawn, and now Auf is leading his troops to gather in one place. Why don't they use artillery to bombard them?"

Xue Rengui glanced at him and did not hide anything: "Yesterday's bombardment used up all the shells that had been transported from Chang'an in the past six months, and many gun barrels were also scrapped... For a while, it will be difficult for the artillery to exert its power."

Helu was stunned: "Is it time-consuming and laborious to make shells?"

Xue Rengui said calmly: "It's a military secret, I can't tell you!"

Helu: “…”

I abandoned my home and career and went deep behind enemy lines, but in the end I am still an outsider, right?
Mother!

I was so angry that I bit a piece of meat hard and almost choked...