Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5167 Secret Agreement
Xue Rengui had seen all kinds of tokens of trust, but he had never seen a national seal as a token of trust... Maybe this guy was not stupid, but for Kangguo, the national seal was not that important?
As if he understood Xue Rengui's doubts, Fu Human grinned and said, "The national seal is just a dead object. Compared with the heritage of Kangguo and the people of the whole city, what is it? The entire Kangguo is in danger. Once the Tang army starts to attack, Aludi City will be shrouded in war. Instead of bringing some other token to make the general suspicious, it is better to bring the national seal directly to avoid misunderstandings and thoroughly demonstrate Kangguo's sincerity."

Xue Rengui nodded and said, "This sincerity is indeed very significant! Then let's be frank. What do you want to do here, Prince?"

Fu Human said: "Kangguo and Datang are allies. Ten years ago, my father sent an envoy to the Tang Dynasty to meet with His Majesty Emperor Taizong, who commended him, and they swore to be good neighbors forever. Over the years, Kangguo has also taken good care of Datang merchants, and the commercial tax has been reduced by more than 10%... However, the Arabs are brutal and violent, and Kangguo is weak and unable to protect itself. It has to succumb to their tyranny, but it is looking forward to the arrival of the Tang army day and night to drive out the evil. Now Yaqid has occupied the magpie's nest and entrenched in Aludi City. The people of Kangguo dare not speak out but are angry. Fortunately, the Tang army has arrived soon, and the people of Kangguo are willing to assist the Tang army to annihilate the bandits!"

Whether it is Kangguo or the rest of the Nine Zhaowu Kingdoms, they are more willing to do business with the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang people were smart and often earned countless profits in various countries, but the Tang Dynasty would put the rules on the table and everyone would abide by them, and would not bully the weak. The Arabs were different. These barbarians, like livestock, ignored the rules. They would abide by the rules when they were in their favor, and trample on them when they were not. In a word, they would take advantage at any time, and would overturn the table if they could not take advantage...

Wild beasts generally have no civilization at all.

Moreover, the Tang Dynasty knew that the Transoxiana region was too far away, and even if it was conquered for a while, it would not be possible to occupy it for a long time. Therefore, the Tang Dynasty had no desire to covet the land in the Transoxiana region. It only wanted to connect all countries through the Silk Road so that everyone could do business and make money together.

The Arabs were extremely greedy when it came to land. They held scriptures in one hand and swords in the other, and wherever they went, they were like locusts, plundering land, people, wealth... at will.

Xue Rengui said: "The Tang Dynasty understands the difficulties of the Nine Kingdoms of Zhaowu, so we have never blamed you for submitting to the Arabs. If you are willing to renew the alliance, we will naturally agree. But how do you plan to help me annihilate the Arab army?"

In any case, betrayal is a fact, and it cannot be resolved by just saying a few words or expressing loyalty.

Fu Human said confidently: "I can secretly mobilize enough boats and even build a floating bridge on the Sabao River to help your army cross the river and reach the city of Aludi!"

Xue Rengui perked up: "Are you serious?"

"How dare I joke in a military tent? I just hope that once Aludi City is destroyed, the Tang army can help rebuild the city."

"A word is settled!"

"Then I will go back and report to my father, and then secretly mobilize the boats."

"How much time is needed?"

"Three days later, we will build three floating bridges overnight at the shallows 20 miles upstream from Aludi City to allow your army to cross the river."

"it is good!"

Xue Rengui stood up suddenly and said in a deep voice: "If this is accomplished, I will personally write to Your Majesty and not only commend your country, but also confer titles on the virtuous father and son!"

Fu Human's face flushed with excitement: "Really?"

It is easy to obtain the reward from the Tang Dynasty, but it is extremely difficult to obtain the imperial decree from the Tang Emperor. The Nine Zhaowu Clans even regard this as an incomparable honor!

No matter which tribe the Hu people belonged to, and no matter whether they had the ambition to conquer the world or not, they all regarded the Tang Dynasty as the legitimate government of the world.

After all, Emperor Taizong was the universally recognized "Heavenly Khan" and had been recognized and conferred the title by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. His status and position were naturally higher than others...

Xue Rengui said: "You all respected Emperor Taizong as the 'Heavenly Khan' in the past. Now you have come to your senses and returned to the rule of the Tang Dynasty. Your Majesty will gladly agree to it."

"I will return to Aludi City right now and make secret preparations with my father to help the Tang army cross the river in three days!"

"Then I will wait here. After three days, we will annihilate the enemy!"

……

After Fuhuman left, Xue Rengui gathered the officers and soldiers in the general's tent overnight to discuss the matter.

Wang Xiaojie hesitated a little: "Can this man be trusted? What if Ye Qide instructed him to come and deceive us, waiting for us to cross the river when we are unprepared and then attack us halfway across? That would be a big trouble."

Since Kangguo had already betrayed the Tang Dynasty and surrendered to the Arabs, his words could not be trusted. It was entirely possible that he would join forces with the Arabs to harm the Tang army.

If the Tang army was attacked while crossing the river and suffered heavy losses, it would be very likely that a standoff would be formed at Sabao River, and it would be unable to continue pursuing the enemy, and the entire strategy would be declared a failure.

Xue Rengui nodded: "It is indeed possible, but if we don't take the risk, we can only stand on the north bank of the Sabao River and sigh in despair, unable to cross the river, and the war will be deadlocked... What do you think?"

Wang Xiaojie said, "The enemy has more troops than us, but they have been fleeing all the way. Not only are their morale unstable, but they are also seriously lacking in heavy equipment. Please allow me to lead the armored cavalry to cross the river first. As long as we land on the south bank, even if the enemy has set up a tight net, I am confident that I can poke a hole in it, and then hold the river bank to buy time for you to lead the main force to cross the river."

Since the two armies fought, the armored cavalry was a deadly weapon in front of the Arab army. The Arab army had no way to deal with these heavily armed cavalry. In many battles, the light cavalry used the "Parthian tactics" to shoot from the outside and disrupt the enemy formation. Then Wang Xiaojie led the armored cavalry to charge, and the enemy was defeated and continued to flee.

In other words, as long as the armored cavalry did not stand still and allow the enemy to chop off their horses' legs, they would be invincible...

Xue Rengui nodded: "That's great! I'll have to trouble General Wang then."

Wang Xiaojie grinned, showing his white teeth, and said, "It's not hard. Thank you, General, for giving me this achievement."

"This is your achievement, no one can take it away from you!"

Xue Rengui was very emotional. If this battle could be won perfectly according to the pre-war plan, not only would he benefit greatly, but Wang Xiaojie and Gao Deyi would also be promoted rapidly, and the structure of the Anxi Army would be further improved.

Two days later, Gao Deyi led his troops to the north bank of the Sabao River with food and fodder.

Xue Rengui looked at the insignificant amount of food and fodder, shook his head and sighed.

At this time, it was already two thousand miles away from Suiye City. In the summer, there was abundant rain, wild grass grew wildly, and the roads were muddy and difficult to travel. All vehicles found it difficult to travel across the grasslands, and the only way to deliver food and fodder was by cavalry.

Each warhorse carries 200 kilograms of food and fodder, one-third of which is needed on the way, and one-third must be reserved for returning to the city, so only one-third is left to be sent to the front-line troops... Such heavy logistical consumption is unbearable even if Fang Jun tirelessly asked the central government for it half a year in advance.

"The commander-in-chief has ordered that from today on, I will be under the command of the general and there is no need to return to Suiye City."

Listening to Gao Deyi's words, Xue Rengui sighed again.

He understood what this meant.

From here on, it was difficult to get food and fodder from Suiye City. The army could only take the food and fodder it needed from the enemy and fight to support itself...

But he was not discouraged. He patted Gao Deyi on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Then let's fight side by side and fight a battle comparable to 'Fenglangjuxu'. Our achievements will be unparalleled and our names will go down in history!"

All the difficulties had been anticipated when the tactics were first formulated, so we faced them calmly at this moment.

*****
Fuhuman secretly returned to Aludi City and met his father Tong'e overnight.

"Did the Tang army general really say that?"

Tong'e was very excited when she heard that there was a chance for her to receive an imperial decree from the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

"It's absolutely true! Moreover, this Tang army general has great power. He is the deputy governor of the Anxi Protectorate of the Tang Dynasty. His support in the Chang'an court is the most powerful minister of the Tang Dynasty, the Grand Marshal of the Tang Dynasty who is currently commanding the battle in Suiye City! As long as he is willing to say a few good words, this matter will definitely succeed!"

"Okay! What are we going to do?"

"Father, don't worry. You just need to stay in Aludi City and calm the Arabs. I will go outside the city to secretly gather the tribesmen, secretly collect boats and planks, and then secretly build a floating bridge at the shallows upstream away from the Arabs' eyes and ears."

Tong'e thought about it and felt that this matter was not too difficult. The narrowest part of the Sabao River was only more than ten feet wide. More than twenty small boats with wooden boards could build a floating bridge. It was easy to build three floating bridges in one night, but it would be difficult to hide it from the eyes and ears of the Arabs.

But this piece of land is where they have lived for dozens or even hundreds of years, and every inch of the land and every blade of grass is clearly visible...

"You go and do your work, and I will stay in the city to deal with the Arabs."

"Yes! I will leave the city tomorrow morning."

"Well, don't be careless. Although the Arabs are as brutal and violent as wild beasts, they are definitely not stupid! If something goes wrong, the consequences will be unpredictable."

"Father needs to be careful even if he stays in the city."

"...You keep the national seal with you. If anything goes wrong with your father, you will immediately contact the Tang army and ask them to support you in inheriting the throne!"

"Father..."

"Stop fussing! Go now!"

"……Yes!"

……

The next morning, Fuhuman went out of the city to contact his trusted tribesmen, saying that the tribe's sheep needed to move to another pasture. He hid the collected boats and wooden planks among the fodder and secretly transported them to the shallows dozens of miles upstream from the city of Aludi.

Tong'e stayed in the city, hosting banquets with fine wine and meat every day. Although Yezide and others were worried about the Tang army on the north bank, they gradually felt relieved when they saw that the river water had been rising rapidly for several days and it was impossible for the Tang army to gather boats to cross the river.